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Form  No.  471 


A  Distant  View  of  the  Pamunkey  Reservation 


The   Conquest  of  Virginia 
The  Forest  Primeval 

An  Account,  Based  on  Original  Documents,  of  the 

Indians   in    that   Portion   of    the    Continent 

in  which  was  Established  the  First 

English  Colony  in  America 


By 
Conway  Whittle  Sams,  B.L. 

Author  of  "Sams  on  Attachment,"   "Shall  Women  Vote?"  etc. 
Member  of  the  Virginia  Bar 


With  Illustrations 


G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 

New   York  and   London 

Cbe    Iktiicherbocher     ipcess 

1916 


Copyright,  19  i6 

BY 

CONWAY   WHITTLE    SAMS 


"Cbe  finfclierboclier  press,  Hew  ISorft 


^0 
THE   MEMORY   OF 

SIR  WALTER  RALEIGH 

AND 

HENRY  WRIOTHESLEY,  Earl  of  Southampton, 

THE    GREAT   LEADERS    IN    THE 

MOVEMENT   WHICH   RESULTED   IN 

THE   FOUNDING   OF 

VIRGINIA 

THIS   WORK   IS   DEDICATED 


THE  VIRGINIANS'  INTENTIONS  WITH 
REGARD  TO  THE  INDIANS 

"  To  teach  them  moral  and  physical  good,  which  is 
the  end  of  our  planting  amongst  them ;  to  let  them  know 
what  virtue  and  goodness  is,  and  the  reward  of  both; 
to  teach  them  religion,  and  the  crown  of  the  righteous; 
to  acquaint  them  with  grace,  that  they  may  participate 
with  glory;  which  God  grant  in  mercy  unto  them." 

William  Strachey 


PREFACE 

THE  present  volume  is  the  first  of  a  series 
on  which  the  author  has  been  engaged  for 
several  years.  As  the  work  grew,  it  be- 
came apparent  that  it  would  be  better  to  issue 
its  parts,  written  originally  merely  as  chapters, 
in  the  form  of  separate  volumes. 

Before  beginning  the  narrative  of  the  events 
which  occurred  on  this  continent  when  the 
English  proceeded  to  take  possession  of  it,  it  has 
seemed  proper  to  view  the  country  itself,  the 
stage  upon  which  so  important  a  drama  was  to 
be  presented,  and  the  race  which  then  occupied 
it. 

We  are  enabled  to  do  this  with  the  aid  of  the 
writings  of  those  who  lived  at  that  period,  and 
who  participated  in  these  scenes. 

The  earliest  of  these  writers,  and  a  very  im- 
portant one,  is  Thomas  Hariot.  This  man  was 
well  known  to  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  who  allowed 
him  a  pension  for  instructing  him  in  mathe- 
matics. He  was  sent  over  by  Sir  Walter  with  the 
expedition  to  Virginia  in  1585.  He  was  employed 
in  connection  with  the  Roanoke  Island  settle- 
ment, under  the  command  of  Sir  Ralph  Lane, 
from  June,  1585,  to  June,  1586.    He  was  a  man 


viii  Preface 

distinguished  for  his  great  talents,  excelling  as 
he  did  in  many  departments  of  learning.  He 
was  a  noted  astronomer,  and  withal  a  gentleman 
of  an  affable  disposition.  '  His  work  is  of  endur- 
ing value  and  interest. 

Captain  George  Percy,  also  cited,  was  a  son 
of  the  Earl  of  Northumberland.  He  sailed  for 
Virginia  in  the  first  expedition,  1606.  He  was 
twice  Governor  of  Virginia,  first  from  September, 
1609,  until  the  arrival  of  Gates  in  May,  1610; 
and  again,  when  appointed  by  Lord  De  la  Warr 
at  the  time  of  the  latter's  departure,  in  March, 
161 1,  pending  the  arrival  of  Dale  in  May,  1612. 
Percy  was  a  man  of  great  importance.  His 
writings  are  preserved  in  part  in  the  valuable 
compilation  made  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Purchas. 

Captain  John  Smith's  first  work,  the  True 
Relation,  was  followed  some  years  later  by  his 
General  History  of  Virginia,  New-England,  and 
the  Summer  Isles,  which,  unless  otherwise  indi- 
cated, is  the  work  herein  referred  to  under  his 
name.    He  was  a  voluminous  writer. 

High  in  authority  among  these  early  writers 
stands  William  Strachey,  of  SafiPron  Walden,  in 
England,  who  sailed  from  Falmouth  on  June  18, 
1609,  on  one  of  the  ships  of  the  fleet  of  nine 
vessels  then  sent  out  by  the  Company. 

In  this  fleet  were  persons  of  the  first  impor- 
tance: Sir  Thomas  Gates,  Sir  George  Somers, 
Captain  Christopher  Newport,  Ralph  Hamor, 
and  others  equally  well  known.  The  vessel  he 
was  in  was  wrecked  on  the  Bermudas,  and  there 


Preface  ix 

he  stayed  from  July,  1609,  until  May,  1610, 
when  he  set  sail  in  one  of  the  two  vessels  built 
on  the  Bermudas  by  the  shipwrecked  mariners. 
He  reached  Virginia  on  the  23d  of  that  month. 
Here  for  three  years  he  was  employed  as  Secre- 
tary of  State  and  one  of  the  Council  with  Lord  De 
la  Warr,  the  Lord  Governor  and  Captain  General 
of  the  Colony.  A  good  scholar  and  of  an  observant 
mind,  Strachey  gathered  during  this  time  the 
material  for  his  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia. 
This  was  composed,  as  he  expresses  it,  of  what 
had  been  *' gathered  and  observed  as  well  by  those 
who  went  first  thither,  as  collected"  by  himself. 

Two  manuscript  copies  of  this  work,  with  but 
little  variation  between  them,  are  in  existence. 
One  is  in  the  British  Museum,  Sloane  Collection. 
In  1618,  it  was  presented  to  Lord  Bacon.  This 
copy  was  published  by  the  Hakluyt  Society  in 
1849.  From  it  our  extracts  are  taken.  The 
other,  in  the  Bodleian  Library  at  Oxford,  has 
not  been  published. 

Strachey  returned  to  England  in  161 1,  and 
Alexander  Brown  fixes  the  time  when  this  treatise 
was  written  between  the  date  of  his  return  and 
July  23,  1612,  when  Captain  Argall  sailed  for 
Virginia.' 

Strachey  must  have  returned  to  Virginia,  as 
he  states  that  he  was  "three  years  thither 
employed."  He  was  still  living  in  1618,  then 
presumably  in  England. 

He  wrote  other  works,  among  them  an  account 

^Genesis  of  the  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  p.  562. 


X  Preface 

of  the  wreck  on  the  Bermudas.  Alexander 
Brown  says  of  him:  "We  know  but  httle  of 
Strachey;  his  command  of  language  seems  to 
me  very  striking,  and  his  initials,  W.  S.,  are  the 
most  interesting  of  the  period."  This  tribute 
was  well  deserved,  for  Strachey  is  one  of  the 
clearest,  most  direct,  and  satisfactory  writers  of 
that  period.  It  is  a  pity  that  his  fine  work 
should  have  lain  unpublished  so  long. 

H.nry  Spelman,  who  is  quoted  so  often, 
writes  from  a  close  personal  knowledge  of  the 
Indians,  having  lived  among  them  for  some 
time.  He  was  the  third  son  of  Sir  Henry  Spel- 
man, of  Congham,  Norfolk,  and  came  over  to 
Virginia  in  the  same  fleet  in  which  Strachey 
shipped  in  1609.  Spelman's  ship  was  the  Unity. 
It  was  not  wrecked,  but  reached  Virginia  safely. 
Shortly  after  his  arrival  he  was  carried  by  Cap- 
tain Smith  on  an  expedition  to  the  Falls  of  the 
James.  Here,  unknown  to  Spelman,  he  was 
sold  to  Taux- Powhatan,  or,  the  Little  Powhatan, 
a  son  of  the  great  Powhatan.  This  son  was  king 
of  the  Indian  town  of  Powhatan.  Smith  sold 
Spelman  in  exchange  for  the  town,  and  left 
him  with  the  Indians.  Smith  wanted  Captain 
William  West,  a  nephew  of  Lord  De  la  Warr, 
to  build  a  town  here.  But  Captain  West  had 
selected  another  site  and  a  serious  dispute  arose 
in  consequence. 

After  seven  or  eight  days,  however,  Spelman 
managed  to  return  to  the  ship  and  sailed  to 
Jamestown.     Hither  came,  soon  after,  Thomas 


Preface  xi 

Savage,  who  was  then  hving  with  Powhatan, 
bringing  venison  from  Powhatan  to  Captain 
Percy,  then  President.  Savage  desired  one  of 
his  fellow-countrymen  to  go  back  with  him,  and 
Spelman  was  selected.  Spelman  went  willingly, 
food  being  scarce  at  Jamestown.  Powhatan 
received  him  kindly,  he  and  Savage  sitting 
regularly  at  his  table.  He  was  sent  back  to 
Jamestown  by  Powhatan,  to  tell  the  English 
that  if  they  would  bring  to  him  a  ship  containing 
some  copper,  he  would  give  corn  in  exchange. 
When  in  response  they  came,  Powhatan  killed 
twenty-six  or  seven  of  their  number. 

While  these  proceedings  were  taking  place, 
Powhatan  sent  Spelman,  and  a  Dutchman 
named  Samuel,  to  a  town  about  sixteen  miles  off, 
called  Yaw-ta-noo-ne,  where  they  were  to  wait 
for  him.  Here  Spelman  seems  to  have  stayed 
for  some  six  months.  At  the  expiration  of  that 
period,  the  King  of  Potomac  came  to  visit 
Powhatan,  and  showed  such  kindness  to  Spel- 
man, Savage,  and  the  Dutchman  that  upon  his 
departure  they  decided  to  go  away  with  him. 
They  had  not  traveled  far  when  Savage  deserted 
them,  and  going  back  to  Powhatan  informed 
him  of  the  departure  of  his  companions.  Pow- 
hatan sent  after  them,  demanding  their  return. 
They  refused  to  comply  and  proceeded  with  the 
King  of  Potomac.  One  of  Powhatan's  messen- 
gers with  his  tomahawk  killed  the  Dutchman. 
Spelman  ran  off,  his  pursuers  after  him,  and  the 
King  of  Potomac  and  his  men  following  in  turn. 


xu 


Preface 


The  last  mentioned  overtook  and  subdued 
Powhatan's  men.  Spelman,  escaping,  made  his 
way  to  the  Potomac  country. 

Here  he  lived  a  year  or  more,  making  his 
domicile  at  a  town  called  Pas-ptan-zie.  At  the 
expiration  of  that  period,  Captain  Argall,  sailing 
up  the  Potomac  River,  heard  that  there  was  an 
English  boy  in  the  region,  and  sought  for  him. 
The  King  of  Potomac,  hearing  of  Argall's  en- 
deavor, sent  Spelman  to  him.  Spelman  re- 
turned from  the  interview,  and  conducted  the 
king  to  the  ship.  Then  a  bargain  was  struck, 
Captain  Argall  purchasing  Spelman  from  the 
king  for  a  stipulated  amount  of  copper. 

"Thus,"  says  Spelman,  "was  I  set  at  liberty 
and  brought  into  England." 

He  returned  to  England  in  1611  with  Lord  De 
la  Warr.  Later  he  went  back  to  Virginia,  and 
was  employed  by  the  Colony  as  an  interpreter. 
In  1618,  he  was  again  in  England,  but  returned 
presently  to  Virginia.  In  1619,  he  was  in  trouble 
with  the  authorities  for  speaking  disrespectfully 
of  Governor  Yeardley  to  0-pe-chan-ca-nough, 
and  was  removed  from  his  office  as  interpreter. 

At  the  time  of  the  massacre  in  1622,  he  was 
trading  with  the  Potomac  Indians,  and  on  March 
23,  1623,  he  was  killed  by  the  Anacostan  Indians, 
on  the  Potomac,  at  some  point  near  the  present 
site  of  Washington.  His  head  was  cut  off, 
and  thrown  down  the  bank  of  the  river  to  his 
companions. 

His  work,  a  short  treatise,  was  not  published 


Preface  xiii 

until  1872,  and  then  only  in  an  edition  of  one 
hundred  copies.  It  is,  therefore,  very  rare. 
There  is  a  good  deal  of  difficulty  in  the  style  of 
its  composition,  but  it  has  strength  and  is  a 
valuable  addition  to  the  records  of  the  time  in 
which  he  lived. 

Ralph  Hamor,  whose  Relation  is  frequently 
mentioned,  came  to  Virginia,  like  Strachey  and 
Spelman,  in  1609.  He  remained  in  Virginia  until 
June  18,  1614,  when  he  returned  to  England. 
During  this  period  he  published  his  book,  which 
appeared  in  London  in  1615. 

During  this  stay,  the  Company  presented  him 
with  eight  shares,  which  carried  title  to  eight 
hundred  acres.  This  was  no  doubt  in  recognition 
of  his  valuable  service  to  the  Colony.  He  was 
also  a  subscriber  to  the  stock  of  the  Company, 
and  on  that  account,  and  by  reason  of  the  trans- 
portation of  other  persons  to  Virginia  at  his 
expense,  he  must  have  become  entitled  to  a 
large  amount  of  land. 

His  brother  Thomas  decided  to  return  to 
Virginia  with  him,  and  in  the  spring  of  1617  they 
jointly  set  sail. 

Ralph  Hamor  became  a  person  of  considerable 
importance  in  the  Colony.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Council  both  under  the  Company  and 
under  the  King — that  is,  from  1621  to  1628,  and 
probably  later. 

His  brother  Thomas  is  believed  to  have  died 
early  in  1624.  We  do  not  know  the  time  of  the 
death  of  the  author. 


xiv  Preface 

Thomas  Glover,  described  as  "an  ingenious 
chirurgion,"  who  had  hved  some  years  in  Vir- 
ginia, communicated  his  account,  a  tract  of  only 
thirty-one  pages,  to  the  Royal  Society  in  1676. 
A  very  limited  edition  of  it  was  reprinted  from 
the  philosophical  transactions  of  that  society, 
in  1904. 

The  Beverley  referred  to  so  often  is  Rob- 
ert Beverley,  whose  entertaining  work.  The 
History  and  Present  State  of  Virginia^  belongs 
to  a  much  later  period  than  the  above-men- 
tioned works,  and,  unlike  the  other  narratives, 
is  written  "by  a  Native  and  Inhabitant  of 
the  Place."  It  was  published  in  London  in 
1705.^ 

This  gentleman  belonged  to  a  well-known 
family  of  Middlesex  County.  He  married  Ursula, 
daughter  of  the  first  William  Byrd.  His  father, 
Major  Robert  Beverley,  was  Clerk  of  the  House 
of  Burgesses,  "noted  in  the  early  history  of 
Virginia  as  a  martyr  in  the  cause  of  liberty,'* 
says  Bishop  Meade.  During  Bacon's  Rebellion 
the  elder  Beverley  sided  with  the  King,  and 
helped  to  re-establish  the  authority  of  Governor 
Berkeley.  But  later  he  fell  under  the  dire  dis- 
pleasure of  the  Governor  and  others  in  authority 
by  refusing  to  deliver  to  them  copies  of  the 
journal  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  without  that 
body's  consent.  All  of  which  arose  out  of  popu- 
lar disapproval  of  the  enforcement  of  the  law  in 
regard  to  establishing  towns  in  each  county,  and 
other  disorders. 


Preface  xv 

The  historian  himself  Hved  in  King  and  Queen 
County,  and  there  he  died. 

Though  belonging  to  a  much  later  period  than 
the  writers  we  have  mentioned  above,  there 
were  still  Indians  in  Virginia  when  Beverley 
wrote, — few  indeed  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
Colony,  but  the  Indian  power  in  the  west  and 
south  was  as  yet  unbroken. 

In  his  writing  he  seems  to  have  followed  in 
many  respects  the  earlier  narrators.  His  work 
is  of  considerable  value.  It  is  well  known,  and 
much  of  it  is  evidently  original  information. 

These  are  the  principal  writers  we  rely  upon 
in  the  following  account.  We  prefer  to  repro- 
duce their  own  words,  changed,  for  the  conven- 
ience and  pleasure  of  the  reader,  only  to  the 
extent  of  bringing  much  of  what  they  wrote 
into  conformity  with  the  present  spelling.  No 
modern  writer  can  equal  in  authority,  nor  sur- 
pass in  interest,  the  statements  found  in  the 
original  records  made  by  the  very  men  who  saw 
these  Virginia  Indians,  and  whose  feet  trod  the 
forest  primeval  in  which  they  dwelt. 


C.  W.  S. 


Norfolk,  Virginia, 
June  28,  1915. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

PRINCIPAL    AUTHORITIES    REFERRED    TO    IN    THIS    WORK, 
AND   THEIR   PARTICULAR   EDITIONS 

Beverley's  History  and  Present  State  of  Virginia,  Lon- 
don, 1705. 

Burk's  History  of  Virginia. 

Campbell,  Charles,  History  of  Virginia,  Philadelphia, 
Pa.,  i860. 

Glover,  An  Account  of  Virginia,  1676,  Oxford  Reprint, 
1904. 

Hakluyt,  Early  English  Voyages  to  America,  Edin- 
burgh, 1 89 1. 

Hamor's  Relation,  Reproduction  of  the  London  Edi- 
tion of  1615. 

Hariot's  Narrative,  London  Reprint,  1893. 

Hening's  Statutes  at  Large. 

Howe's  Virginia,  its  History  and  Antiquities,  Charleston, 
■    1845. 

Jones's  Present  State  of  Virginia,  Sabin's  Reprints,  No.  5, 
New  York,  1865. 

Keith's  History  of  Virginia. 

Kercheval's  History  of  the  Valley,  Edition  of  1850. 

Meade's  Old  Churches  and  Families  of  Virginia,  Original 
Edition,  Pliiladelphia,  1857. 

Newport's  "Discoveries  in  Virginia,"  Printed  in  the 
ArchcBologta  Americana,  Transactions  and  Collections 
of  the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  vol.  iv.,  Boston, 
i860. 

PuRCHAS,  His  Pilgrims,  London  Edition  of  1625. 

Records  of  the  Virgi?iia  Company,  Publication  by  the  Li- 
brary of  Congress,  1906. 


xviii  Bibliography 

Smith's  True  Relation,  Annotated  by  Charles  Deane, 
Boston,  1866. 

Smith's  History  of  Virginia  (General  History),  Rich- 
mond Reprint,  18 19. 

Spelman,  Henry,  Relation  of  Virginia,  Printed  by  James 
F.  Hunnerwell,  London,  1872. 

Stith's  History  of  Virginia,  Sabin's  Reprint,  New  York, 
1865. 

Strachey,  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  Printed  for 
the  Hakluyt  Society,  London,  1849. 

Wingfield's  Discourse  of  Virginia,  Privately  Printed 
by  Charles  Deane,  Boston,  i860. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGB 

I. — Introductory    .....  i 

II. — The  Indian  Character      ...  25 

III. — The  Fashion  and  Domestic  Construc- 
tion OF  Indian  Society  ...  53 

IV. — Marriage 77 

V. — Seasons  and  Festivals       ...  84 

VI. — Fishing,  Hunting,  and  Agriculture  91 

VII. — Canoe-,  Arrow-,  and  Pottery-Making  109 

VIII. — Houses  and  Towns     .         .         .         .128 

IX. — The  Towns  Located  .         .         .141 

X. — The  Falls  OF  the  James     .         .         .161 

XI. — Political  Laws  and  the  Art  of  War  165 

XII. — The  Priestly  Medicine  Man     .         .  183 

XIII. — HUS-KA-NAW-ING             .             .            .             .  I9I 

XIV. — The  Embalmed  Kings  and  Funeral 

Rites    ....                    .  198 

XV. — Burial  Mounds          ....  204 

XVI. — Priests  and  Conjurers      .         .         .  223 


XX 


Contents 


CHAPTER 

XVII.— Religion 
XVIII. — Powhatan  and  Wingina 
XIX. — Some  Indian  Words  . 
XX. — The  Tribes  and  Nations 
XXI. — Conclusion 
Index      


238 
267 
285 

324 
406 

409 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


A    Distant   View   of    the   Pamunkey   Reser- 
vation      .....     Frontispiece 

A  Wer-6-ance  or  Great  Lord  of  Virginia 

A  Chief  Lord  of  Roanoke 

Aged  Men  of  Pom-e-i-ock 

An  Aged  Man  in  his  Winter  Garment 

The  Women  Carrying  their  Children 

One  of  the  Chief  Ladies  of  Se-co-ta 

A  Chief  Lady  of  Pom-e-i-ock 

A  Couple  of  Young  Women  . 

Cooking  Fish  .... 

Seething  of  Meat  in  Earthen  Pots 

A  Man  and  his  Wife  at  Dinner    . 

Dancing  at  the  Great  Feast 

Manner  of  Praying 

Fishing  in  the  Canoe     . 

Canoe  Making  and  Felling  Trees 


38 
54 
56 
58 
60 
62 
64 
66 
68 
70 

74 
86 
88 

94 
no 


xxii  Illustrations 


Plate  i. — Paleolithic   Implements   from   the 

District  of  Columbia     .         .         .112 

From  the  American  Anthropologist. 

Plate  2. — Paleolithic   Implements   from   the 

District  of  Columbia     .         ,         -114 

From  the  American  Anthropologist. 

Plate  3. — Rude  Chipped  Implements  from  the 

District  of  Columbia     .         .         .116 

From  the  American  Anthropologist. 

Plate  4. — Rude  Chipped  Implements  from  the 

District  of  Columbia     .         .         .118 

From  the  American  Anthropologist. 

Plate  5. — Examples  of  Fabrics  Impressed 
upon  Pottery  of  the  Potomac 
Valley 120 

From  the  American  Anthropologist. 

An  Indian  Town  with  Cornfield  .         .         .132 

The  Town  of  Pom-e-i-ock       .         .         .         .135 

The  Unenclosed  Town  of  Se-co-ta        .         .     137 

Map  Showing  Principal  Portion  of  the  Ter- 
ritory Ruled  by  Powhatan      .         .         .142 

Map  Showing  Indian  Localities  near  Roanoke 

Island       .         .         .         .         .         .         .160 

The  Burial  of  the  Kings       ....     201 

The  Marietta  Mound    .         .         .         .         .210 

The  Great  Mound,  Showing  the  Observatory 

Built  on  it  in  1837  ....     212 


Illustrations  xxiii 

PAGB 

Carved  Stone  Found  in  the  Mound      .         .216 
The  Great  Mound  in  1909     ....     220 

A   Priest  and  a   Conjurer  in  their  Proper 

Habits 232 

Their  Idol  in  his  Tabernacle        ,         .         .     240 

The  Idol  Called  Okee,  Qui-6c-cos,  or  Ki-wa-sa     248 

The  Home  of  a  Pamunkey  Indian  ,         .     334 


The  Conquest  of  Virginia 


CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTORY 

MANY  excellent  histories  of  Virginia  have 
been  written,  but  the  whole  story 
has  never  been  told,  and  probably 
never  will  be.  It  has  been  the  method  of  the 
other  writers  on  this  subject  to  regard  the 
acquisition  of  the  territory  we  occupy  as  a 
"Settlement"  by  the  English,  a  peaceful  kind  of 
settlement,  one  might  infer,  and  the  Indians, 
and  the  troubles  with  the  Indians,  have  been 
made  to  occupy  a  comparatively  inconspicuous 
place  in  the  narrative.  Our  relations  with 
England  is  the  theme  these  writers  have  pre- 
ferred to  dwell  upon,  and  but  little  is  said  of  our 
relations  with  the  Indians. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  the  series  of  historical 
studies  of  which  this  is  the  initial  volume,  the 
purpose  has  been  to  bring  out  the  long  and 
difficult  struggle  which  our  forefathers  had  in 
acquiring  this  goodly  heritage.  We  have,  there- 
fore, called  the  work  as  a  whole  The  Conquest  of 


2  The  Forest  Primeval 

Virginia,  for  conquest  it  was  as  truly  as  that  of 
Granada  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  Mexico  by 
Cortes,  or  Peru  by  Pizarro. 

The  conquest  on  the  part  of  England  was  com- 
plicated by  European  rivalry.  Spain,  the  great 
World-Power  of  that  day,  claimed  this  territory 
as  her  own,  and  France  was  equally  ambitious  to 
acquire  it.  These  three  great  Powers,  therefore, 
were  rival  claimants,  and  England  had  to  deal 
with  them  as  well  as  with  the  Indians  who  were 
in  actual  possession.  Spain  had  led  the  way  in 
the  conquest  of  the  New  World,  and  claimed  it 
under  the  discovery  of  Columbus,  and  a  grant 
from  the  Pope.  She  had  established  herself  in 
the  southern  part  of  North  America,  and  called 
it  Florida.  France  came  behind  Spain,  but 
claimed  title  to  the  country  on  account  of  the 
voyage  of  Verazzano  and  by  virtue  of  the  tradi- 
tions of  earlier  expeditions.  She  entered  upon 
and  attempted  permanently  to  appropriate  a 
portion  of  this  southern  land,  but  she  was 
forcibly  driven  out  by  Spain,  and,  selecting  a 
new  location  for  her  Colony,  went  where  Euro- 
pean opposition  was  less  effective.  She  founded 
her  new  settlement  in  the  colder  regions  of  the 
north,  on  the  great  River  St.  Lawrence,  and 
called  the  country  Canada.  From  this  beginning 
she  expanded  west  and  south,  and  came  later 
into  a  long  and  dreadful  conflict  with  England 
and  the  English  Colonies. 

With  the  Spaniards  then  to  the  south,  and  the 
French  to  the  north,  England,  also  claiming  the 


Introductory  3 

whole  continent  on  account  of  the  discovery  of 
Cabot,  decided  to  proceed  to  take  actual  posses- 
sion of  the  central  part  of  the  continent,  and 
called  it  Virginia. 

At  the  time  when  our  history  begins,  1584, 
Elizabeth  was  Queen  of  England,  having  as- 
cended the  throne  twenty-five  years  before.  She 
was  a  staunch  Protestant.  Henry  III.,  the  son 
of  Catharine  de'  Medici, — she  who  had  instigated 
the  leaders  in  the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew, — 
was  King  of  France,  having  reigned  already  ten 
years.  Philip  II.,  the  most  bigoted  and  perse- 
cuting of  monarchs,  who  had  dedicated  him- 
self and  the  resources  of  his  kingdom  to  the 
extermination  of  Protestantism,  sat  absolute 
monarch  upon  the  throne  of  Spain.  He  had 
then  reigned  for  twenty-eight  years. 

The  condition  of  Europe  at  this  period,  and 
far  into  the  seventeenth  century,  was  that  of  one 
vast  battle-field.  From  every  quarter  ascended 
to  heaven  the  smoke  of  burning  homes  or  villages 
or  cities.  On  all  sides  was  heard  the  heavy 
tramp  of  marching  troops.  The  news  of  each 
day  was  a  battle,  a  conspiracy,  or  an  assassina- 
tion. The  world  was  divided  against  itself  on  an 
issue  which  seemed  to  threaten  one  side  or  the 
other  with  extermination,  as  no  ground  of  com- 
promise or  adjustment  seemed  possible.  This 
war  involved  many  countries  and  took  various 
names,  but  one  and  the  same  principle  was  at 
issue — freedom  of  religion.  In  Germany  it  was 
the  Thirty  Years*  War.     In  France  it  was  the 


4  The  Forest  Primeval 

religious  wars  between  the  Catholics  and  the 
Huguenots.  In  Holland  it  was  the  war  for  in- 
dependence from  Spain,  which  lasted  eighty 
years.  In  England  it  involved  endless  intrigue 
and  a  revolution,  and  had  as  its  most  dramatic 
incident  and  culminating  point  the  defeat  and 
destruction  of  the  Spanish  Armada,  which  was 
sent  by  Philip  II.  to  overthrow  and  subjugate 
that  heretical  kingdom,  which  was,  next  to 
Holland,  the  great  champion  of  Protestantism. 

These  long  and  bloody  wars  were  most  dis- 
astrous, and  are  responsible  in  part  for  the 
prejudice  entertained  by  some  to  religion  itself. 
But  they  were  fought  by  the  Protestants  for 
self-preservation.  To  have  surrendered  the 
principle  of  freedom  of  religion  would  have 
changed  the  whole  course  of  the  world's  history. 
It  was  not  to  be  thought  of.  Self-preservation 
in  the  cause  of  freedom  of  religion  was,  therefore, 
the  principle  for  which  the  Protestant  hosts  were 
contending.  The  destruction  of  this  freedom, 
and  the  extirpation  of  all  dissent  from  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Church  of  Rome,  was  the  principle 
for  which  the  Catholic  Powers  were  contending. 

Many  of  the  incidents  characteristic  of  this 
long  and  terrible  struggle  are  familiar  to  us  all, 
but  some  of  them  at  least  should  be  here  briefly 
reviewed,  in  order  to  understand  the  political 
conditions  under  which  Virginia  was  founded, 
and  so  properly  to  appreciate  and  comprehend 
its  deep  significance  and  importance.  The 
founding  of  Virginia  was  a  movement  under- 


Introductory  5 

taken  by  England  for  the  extension  of  Protes- 
tantism at  the  time  when  the  following  occur- 
rences were  taking  place.  Beginning  our  list  of 
events  some  thirty  years  before  the  first  move  in 
that  direction  was  made,  we  therefore  mention: — 

The  burning  alive  of  Bishops  Ridley  and 
Latimer  and  other  Protestants  by  Mary,  the 
Catholic  Queen  of  England,  in  1555. 

The  persecution  of  the  Protestants,  which  had 
gone  on  under  Queen  Isabella  and  Charles  V., 
actively  undertaken  upon  a  formidable  scale  by 
Philip  II.,  1 56 1,  with  a  view  to  their  complete 
extermination. 

The  petition  of  the  Four  Hundred  nobles 
against  the  Inquisition  in  the  Netherlands,  1565. 

The  revolt  of  the  Protestants  in  Scotland,  1565. 

The  revolt  of  the  Netherlands  from  Philip  II., 
1566. 

The  war  which  followed  this  revolt  lasted,  as 
we  have  said,  eighty  years,  and  covered,  there- 
fore, the  entire  period  here  reviewed.  This  war, 
in  which  England  took  part,  is  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  struggles  recorded  in  history.  It 
resulted  in  the  establishment  of  freedom  of 
religion  and  the  independence  of  Holland,  but 
only  after  the  most  appalling  losses  and  heroic 
sacrifices.  At  the  head  of  the  Hollanders  stood 
the  majestic  figure  of  the  great  William  the 
Silent  of  Nassau,  Prince  of  Orange,  who  earned 
his  sobriquet  of  "The  Silent"  by  reason  of  his 
course  on  one  occasion  when,  walking  with 
Henry  II.  of  France,  this  monarch,  who    had 


6  The  Forest  Primeval 

on'y  recently  ascended  the  throne,  unfolded 
to  him  his  plans  and  purposes  respecting  the 
Protestants,  whom  he  had  determined  utterly  to 
destroy.  Philip  11.  was  to  aid  him  in  this  plot. 
William  listened  in  silence  to  what  Henry  had  to 
say,  letting  the  French  King  disclose  all  that  was 
in  his  heart,  while  he  dedicated  himself  to  defeat 
those  plans. 

The  dispatch  of  the  Duke  of  Alva  of  Spain,  for 
the  purpose  of  subduing  the  Netherlands,  1567. 

The  beheading  of  the  Counts  Egmont  and 
Horn,  by  the  Duke  of  Alva,  1568. 

The  defeat  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  in  her  at- 
tempt to  conquer  Protestant  Scotland,  1568. 

The  defeat  of  the  Huguenots  in  St.  Denis  by 
the  French  Catholics,  1568. 

The  establishment  of  the  Duke  of  Alva's 
"bloody  tribunal"  at  Brussels,  1568. 

The  rout  of  the  Huguenots  at  Jarnac;  Conde 
killed,  1569. 

The  elevation  to  the  leadership  of  the  Hugue- 
nots in  1 571  of  Henry  of  Beam,  afterwards 
Henry  IV.  of  France. 

The  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  1572,  in 
the  course  of  which  70,000  Protestants  were 
murdered. 

The  recognition,  in  1572,  on  the  part  of  the 
Northern  States  of  the  Netherlands,  of  William 
the  Silent  as  Stadtholder. 

The  siege  of  Leyden,  1574,  by  the  armies  of 
Spain. 

The  peace  of  Chastenoy,  1576,  granting  the 


Introductory  7 

Protestants  free  exercise  of  their  religion  in  all 
parts  of  France,  except  Paris. 

The  formation  in  France,  1576,  of  the  Catholic 
League,  supported  by  Philip  II.,  whose  object  it 
was  utterly  to  destroy  the  French  Protestants. 

The  superseding  of  Don  Juan  by  Alexander 
Farnese  as  leader  of  the  Spanish  forces  in  the 
Netherlands,  in  1578. 

The  formation  of  the  Union  of  Utrecht  in  1579 
by  the  Seven  Provinces  under  William  the  Silent 
against  Philip  II. 

The  declaration  on  the  part  of  the  United 
Provinces  of  Holland  of  their  independence  from 
Spain,  1581. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  first  expedition  for  Vir- 
ginia, to  establish  a  Protestant  Colony  in  the 
New  World,  April  27,  1584. 

This  event  took  place  at  the  very  height  of  the 
long  and  dreadful  struggle.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh, 
one  of  the  most  interesting  figures  that  has 
moved  across  the  stage  of  history,  hated  Spain 
and  what  Spain  stood  for,  as  Hannibal  hated 
Rome,  and  Raleigh's  work  was  in  large  part 
directed  toward  establishing  in  the  New  World  a 
Protestant  Power,  as  a  rival  to  Catholic  Spain  and 
Catholic  France.  In  the  attempt  he  perished. 
Spain  regarded  him  with  the  deepest  hatred  as  an 
intruder  on  the  domains  which  she  claimed  as  her 
own,  and  because  he  was  an  avowed  and  auda- 
cious opponent  of  her  religion,  her  policies,  and 
her  power.  At  the  hands  of  James  I.,  whose 
influence  Sir  Walter  had  sought  to  extend  across 


8  The  Forest  Primeval 

the  ocean,  but  who  now  wished  to  make  a  family 
alliance  with  the  Spanish  King,  who  was  James's 
natural  enemy,  and  at  the  Spanish  King's 
instigation,  and  in  deference  to  the  desire  of 
pleasing  that  monarch,  Raleigh,  generally  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  finest  types  England  has 
produced,  met  his  death,  and  the  Colony  on 
which  he  had  lavished  his  care  and  wealth  came 
to  naught.  But  the  work  which  he  had  been  bold 
enough  to  attempt  was  taken  up  by  others  and 
carried,  with  labor  and  difficulty,  and  again  with 
overwhelming  loss  to  those  engaged  in  the  enter- 
prise, to  a  finally  successful  issue. 

Many  of  the  most  stirring  incidents  of  the 
titanic  struggle  between  Catholicism  and  Pro- 
testantism were  still  hidden  in  the  future  when 
Sir  Walter  undertook  to  plant  his  Colony. 

Virginia  was  England's  bold  and  determined 
effort,  participated  in  and  encouraged  by  Eliza- 
beth and,  at  first,  likewise  by  James  I.,  and  by 
cities,  peers,  nobles,  members  of  Parliament, 
men  of  affairs,  and  representatives  of  all  classes 
of  English  citizens,  to  claim  and  hold  for  England 
and  for  Protestantism  a  part  of  the  New  World 
which  was  in  danger  of  falling  entirely  into 
Catholic  hands.  Had  Catholicism  acquired  this 
domain,  such  a  preponderating  influence  in  the 
affairs  of  the  world  at  large  would  have  been  hers 
that  the  aim  and  dream  of  Philip  II.,  which  were 
utterly  to  exterminate  Protestantism  from  the 
face  of  the  earth,  might  conceivably  have  been 
realized.     This  was  the  object  dearest  to   the 


Introductory  9 

heart  of  Philip,  and  it  was  the  intention  of 
Raleigh,  as  it  had  been  that  of  the  great 
William  the  Silent,  that  this  object  should  be 
defeated. 

Catholicism  tolerated  no  dissent  from  its  be- 
liefs. The  Moors  were  conquered  and  driven 
out  of  Spain,  on  the  ground  that  they  were 
heretics.  The  Jews  came  in  for  equal  condemna- 
tion, and  the  Protestant  Christians  were  most 
hated  of  all.  Holding  the  doctrine  that  no  faith 
was  to  be  kept  with  heretics,  the  wars  which  were 
waged  against  them  were  of  the  bloodiest  and 
most  cruel  character.  Around  the  struggle  which 
began  with  Holland,  when  Spain,  under  Charles 
V.  and  his  son  Philip  H.,  undertook  to  suppress 
all  religious  dissent  from  the  doctrines  of  the 
Church  of  Rome,  by  means  of  the  cruelties  and 
terrors  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition,  all  the  policies 
and  armed  forces  of  the  nations  of  Europe  gradu- 
ally revolved,  as  one  after  the  other  was  drawn 
into  the  vortex  of  that  mortal  struggle. 

After  Raleigh's  ships  had  sailed  for  Virginia, 
then,  in  the  year  1584,  these  events  were  still  to 
happen: — 

The  assassination,  July  10,  1584,  of  William 
the  Silent,  Prince  of  Orange  and  Stadtholder  of 
Holland,  by  a  tool  of  Philip  H. 

This  event,  one  of  Earth's  great  tragedies, 
occurred  only  seventy-four  days  after  the  ships 
of  Raleigh  left  England  on  their  voyage  for 
Virginia. 

Babington's  conspiracy  in  the  cause  of  Mary 


lo  The  Forest  Primeval 

Queen  of  Scots  to  assassinate  Elizabeth  and 
seize  her  throne,  1586. 

The  death  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney  at  the  battle  of 
Ziitphen,  1586. 

The  beheading  by  direction  of  Elizabeth  at 
Fotheringay  Castle,  1587,  of  Mary  Queen  of 
Scots,  the  Catholic  pretender  to  the  throne  of 
England,  for  complicity  in  Babington's  con- 
spiracy. 

The  appearance  in  the  English  Channel  on 
July  19,  1588,  of  the  Spanish  fleet,  called  the 
Invincible  Armada,  built  by  Philip  IE,  and  dis- 
patched, under  the  command  of  the  Duke  of 
Medina  Sidonia,  to  conquer  Protestant  England 
and  subjugate  it  to  Catholicism.  Its  defeat  and 
destruction  by  Lord  Charles  Howard,  Sir  Francis 
Drake,  and  other  English  commanders.  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh  himself  took  an  active  part  in  this 
defence. 

The  breaking  out  in  1588  of  a  rebellion  in  Paris, 
at  the  instigation  of  Henry,  Duke  of  Guise,  the 
head  of  the  Catholic  party  of  France. 

The  assassination  of  Henry  HL  of  France,  and 
the  ascension  to  the  throne  in  1589  of  Henry  IV. 
of  France  and  Navarre,  a  Protestant,  the  first  of 
the  House  of  Bourbon. 

The  besieging,  1590,  by  Henry  IV.,  of  Paris, 
which  refuses  him  admittance  because  he  is  a 
Protestant. 

Henry  IV.'s  conversion  to  Catholicism,  1593. 

The  destruction  by  Howard,  Essex,  and 
Raleigh  of  a  Spanish  fleet  at  Cadiz,  1596. 


Introductory  ii 

The  overthrow  of  the  Roman  Catholic  League 
by  Henry  IV.  of  France,  1596. 

The  demise  of  Phihp  IL,  September  13,  1598, 
and  his  succession  by  his  son  Philip  III.,  who  was 
the  persistent  enemy  of  the  Virginia  Colony  at 
Jamestown,  as  his  father  had  been  of  the  one 
attempted  by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  at  Roanoke 
Island. 

The  establishment  through  Henry  IV.  of 
liberty  of  conscience  and  religion  for  the  Protes- 
tants by  the  issuance  of  the  celebrated  Edict  of 
Nantes,  1599. 

The  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits  from  England  by 
proclamation  of  James  L,  1604. 

The  concocting  by  Catholics  of  the  Gunpowder 
Plot  designed  to  throw  the  English  Government 
into  confusion.  It  was  to  have  been  accom- 
plished by  springing  a  mine  under  the  House  of 
Parliament  and  destroying  at  the  same  time  the 
three  estates  of  the  realm, — the  King,  the  House 
of  Lords,  and  the  Commons.  Guy  Fawkes  was 
detected  on  November  5,  1605,  in  the  vaults 
under  the  House  of  Lords,  preparing  the  train  for 
exploding  the  mine  the  next  day. 

The  foundation  of  Quebec  by  the  French 
Catholics,  1605. 

The  requirement  in  England  of  oaths  of  alle- 
giance recognizing  only  the  Protestant  succession 
to  the  Crown,  1606. 

The  departure  from  London,  December  19, 
1606,  for  the  purpose  of  founding  a  Colony  in 
Virginia,  of  the  Sarah  Constant,  the  Goodspeed,  and 


12  The  Forest  Primeval 

the  Discovery,  owned  by  the  Virginia  Company, 
which  had  succeeded  to  the  claims  of  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh.  These  ships  landed  at  Cape  Henry 
on  the  26th  of  April,  1607,  and  on  May  13th, 
founded  Jamestown,  or  James  City,  as  it  was  at 
first  called,  the  first  permanent  English  settle- 
ment in  the  New  World. 

The  assassination.  May  14,  1610,  of  Henry 
IV.  of  France,  the  great  supporter  of  the  Protes- 
tants. 

The  succession  to  the  throne  of  Sweden  In 
161 1  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  destined  to  become 
the  great  champion  of  Protestantism. 

War  in  Germany  between  the  two  parties,  the 
Evangelic  Union  under  Frederick,  Elector  Pala- 
tine, and  the  Catholic  League,  under  the  Duke 
of  Bavaria,  1618. 

The  execution,  on  October  29,  161 8,  of  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh,  then  in  the  sixty-fifth  year  of  his 
^g^>  by  James  I.  of  England,  to  please  Philip 
in.  of  Spain. 

The  beginning  in  161 8  of  the  Thirty  Years* 
War  between  the  Protestants  and  Catholics, 
involving  the  States  of  Central  Europe. 

The  battle  of  Prague,  1620,  resulting  in  the 
total  defeat  and  ruin  of  the  cause  of  the  Protes- 
tants in  Bohemia,  and  the  loss  of  his  crown  by 
Frederick  V.,  the  son-in-law  of  King  James  I. 
of  England. 

The  driving  from  Bohemia  into  exile  in  1620 
of  the  Protestants  at  the  instigation  of  Ferdi- 
nand 11. 


Introductory  13 

The  settlement  of  New  England,  at  Plymouth, 
December  21,  1620. 

The  death  in  March,  1621,  of  Philip  III.  of 
Spain,  and  his  succession  by  his  son  Philip  IV., 
who  continued  the  religious  war  with  Holland 

The  overthrow  by  King  James  I.,  June  26, 
1624,  of  the  Virginia  Company  which  had  estab- 
lished the  Colony. 

The  death  on  March  27,  1625,  of  King  James 
I.,  and  his  succession  by  his  son  Charles  I.,  who 
married  Henrietta  Maria,  daughter  of  the  great 
Henry  IV.  of  France. 

The  defeat  by  Tilly,  who  had  been  commander 
of  the  Catholic  League,  of  Christian  IV.,  King 
of  Denmark  and  Norway,  and  leader  of  the 
Protestants,  at  the  battle  of  Lutter,  August  27, 
1626. 

The  choosing  in  1629  of  Christian  IV.  as  head 
of  the  Protestant  League. 

The  inauguration  of  the  career  of  Gustavus 
Adolphus,  the  great  champion  of  Protestantism, 
by  the  conquest  of  Pomerania,  1630. 

The  capture  and  sack  of  Magdeburg  by  Tilly, 
May  16,  163 1. 

The  defeat  of  Tilly  by  Gustavus  Adolphus  at 
the  battle  of  Leipsic,  September  17,  1631. 

The  mortal  wounding  of  Tilly,  in  contest  with 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  near  the  Lech,  April  15, 
1632. 

The  defeat  by  Gustavus  Adolphus,  in  alliance 
with  Charles  I.  of  England,  of  Wallenstein  at 
the  battle  of  Liitzen,  and  the  death  of  Gustavus 


14  The  Forest  Primeval 

Adolphus  In  the  moment  of  victory,  November 
i6,  1632. 

The  founding  of  Maryland  by  Lord  Baltimore, 
a  Catholic,  1632. 

The  assassination  of  Wallenstein  by  his  officers, 
February  25,  1634. 

The  Peace  of  Prague  between  the  Protestant 
German  Princes  and  the  Catholic  Emperor,  1634. 

The  formation,  1635,  under  the  leadership  of 
Richelieu,  of  an  alliance  between  France  and 
Sweden  against  the  two  great  Catholic  states, 
Spain  and  Austria. 

The  death  on  February  15,  1637,  of  the 
Emperor  Ferdinand  II.  of  Germany,  the  great 
persecutor  of  the  Protestants,  and  his  succession 
by  his  son,  Ferdinand  III. 

The  hatching  of  a  conspiracy  by  the  Irish 
Catholics  to  expel  the  English  and  massacre  the 
Protestant  settlers  in  Ulster  to  the  number  of 
forty  thousand,  commenced  on  St.  Ignatius'  day, 
October  23,  1641. 

The  defeat  by  the  Swedes  of  the  Austrians  at 
Leipsic,  1642. 

The  death  of  Louis  XIII.,  May  14,  1643,  and 
his  succession  by  his  son  Louis  XIV.,  then  an 
infant,  Cardinal  Mazarin  controlling  the  affairs 
of  France. 

The  soliciting  by  the  Protestant  Princes  of 
Germany,  oppressed  by  the  House  of  Austria, 
of  the  aid  of  Sweden,  1648,  resulting  in  the 
Treaty  of  Westphalia,  signed  on  October  24, 1648. 

This  famous  treaty,  which  included  all  the 


Introductory  15 

great  and  nearly  all  the  minor  Powers  of  Europe, 
established  the  general  condition  of  Europe  for 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  and  concludes  this 
list  of  the  leading  events  which  marked  the 
period  just  before  and  during  the  time  of  the 
settlement  of  the  Colony  of  Virginia  by  England. 

By  this  treaty  the  Protestants  in  Germany 
were  protected  in  their  freedom  of  religion  nearly 
to  the  same  extent  to  which  they  had  enjoyed 
religious  toleration  under  Maximilian  11.  The 
Pope  protested  against  this  toleration,  but  his 
protest  was  disregarded. 

In  France  the  Protestants  were  still  protected 
by  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  established  by  Henry 
IV.,  but  which  was  to  be  revoked  by  Louis  XIV. 
in  1685,  as  a  result  of  which  fifty  thousand  fami- 
lies were  driven  from  his  kingdom,  many  of 
whom  came  to  Virginia. 

Religious  persecution  and  strife  was,  therefore, 
by  no  means  ended  even  with  the  establishment 
of  the  Treaty  of  Westphalia. 

The  condensed  summary  of  events  above  re- 
produced shows  the  state  of  Europe  when 
Raleigh,  and  after  him,  the  Virginia  Company, 
undertook  to  plant  an  English  Protestant  Colony 
on  the  western  shore  of  the  Atlantic. 

This  Colony  was,  therefore,  the  outpost  of 
Protestantism,  braving  not  only  the  ocean  and 
the  savage  inhabitants  of  a  vast  and  unknown 
continent,  but  braving  the  two  great  rival 
Catholic  Powers  of  Europe,  Spain  and  France. 

A  wide  and  deep  distinction  exists  in  this  re- 


X 


i6  The  Forest  Primeval 

spect  between  the  Virginia  Settlement  and  the 
Massachusetts  Settlement.  The  Jamestown 
Settlement  was  in  harmony  with,  and  an  exten- 
sion of,  the  national  aims  and  aspirations  and 
with  the  Orthodox  Church  of  England,  having  no 
grievance  against  the  mother  country,  but  loving 
her,  and  seeking  to  extend  her  Ideas  and  her  power 
to  another  continent,  which  was  to  be  held  by 
and  for  Old  England. 

The  Plymouth  Settlement  represented  only  a 
fraction  of  the  English  nation.  Puritanism  was 
obnoxious  to  the  English  Government.  King 
James  I.  hated  the  Puritans  as  much  as  Philip 
IL  and  Ferdinand  IL  abhorred  the  Protestants, 
and  determined  to  suppress  them.  The  founders 
of  the  Plymouth  Colony,  having  with  difficulty 
left  England,  on  account  of  persecution,  had  gone 
to  Amsterdam  In  Holland  a  year  before  the 
twelve  years'  truce  of  the  war  between  Holland 
and  Spain  was  signed.  Here  they  hoped  to  find 
refuge  and  a  toleration  not  granted  them  in 
England,  with  whose  Established  Church  they 
were  at  variance  on  account  of  Its  adherence  to 
certain  features  of  the  worship  which  they 
thought  partook  of  the  Roman  ceremonial. 
After  one  year's  stay  at  Amsterdam,  they  re- 
moved to  Leyden.  Here  they  lived  ten  years 
in  peace  and  security. 

For  various  reasons  they  decided  to  go  else- 
where. They  first  thought  of  lands  beneath  the 
equator.  New  Amsterdam  (New  York)  next 
loomed  as  a  possible  home.     Then  they  applied 


Introductory  17 

to  the  Virginia  Company  for  a  patent,  which  they 
could  have  obtained.  On  applying  to  King 
James  I.  for  a  guarantee  of  rehgious  Hberty  in 
Virginia,  to  be  given  under  his  seal,  the  King 
refused.  They  understood,  however,  that  the 
King  would  not  molest  them  if  they  conducted 
themselves  peaceably.  On  the  strength  of  this 
understanding,  they  decided  to  go. 

From  Delftshaven  In  Holland,  these  people, 
known  in  later  years  as  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  of 
New  England,  sailed  in  the  Speedwell  for  England. 
They  joined  others  at  Southampton,  and  in  the 
Mayflower  sailed  to  Plymouth,  Massachusetts. 

These  Pilgrim  Fathers  did  not  found  the 
United  States  of  America.  South  of  them,  at 
Jamestown,  Virginia,  another  Colony,  more 
truly  representative  of  the  ideas  of  England,  their 
common  mother  country,  had  been  established 
for  thirteen  years  before  the  Mayflower  began  her 
journey.  In  this  older  Colony  representative 
government  had  already  been  established  and 
Protestantism  planted  in  the  New  World. 

But  for  the  existence  in  that  part  of  the  world 
of  this  older  Colony,  America  might  not  have 
been  selected  by  these  people  for  their  settle- 
ment. They  did  not  have  to  leave  Holland. 
They  were  protected  there.  That  they  could  not 
accommodate  themselves  to  the  form  of  Protes- 
tantism approved  by  England  made  them  desire 
to  separate  themselves  from  England.  This  was 
no  more  heroic  than  the  action  of  the  other  men 
of  their  kindred,  who,  having  no  grievance  at 


i8  The  Forest  Primeval 

home,  carried  the  banner  of  their  beloved  country 
and  its  religion  and  laws  voluntarily  into  the 
wilderness,  to  extend  its  power  and  influence  in 
the  world  at  large,  and,  by  resisting  Catholicism 
successfully  in  another  continent,  prevent  the 
total  destruction  of  all  the  forms  of  Protestantism, 
Puritanism  among  them. 

The  Virginia  Settlement  was,  therefore,  a 
larger,  more  significant,  and  nobler  movement 
than  that  of  the  Plymouth  Settlemicnt.  It  was 
the  great  national  struggle  of  the  whole  of 
England,  while  the  Plymouth  Settlement  was 
that  of  a  part  which  was  out  of  harmony  with 
the  whole. 

Real  religious  freedom  was  nowhere.  The 
Catholics  did  not  tolerate  the  Protestants,  which 
fact  was  the  beginning  and  cause  of  all  the  sub- 
sequent trouble.  Virginia  did  not  tolerate  the 
Catholics,  and  was  founded  with  the  intention  of 
prohibiting  any  of  them  from  coming  to  this 
country.  New  England  had  no  idea  of  tolera- 
tion, and  persecuted  those  who  dissented  from 
her. 

Maryland,  encroaching  upon  Virginia,  and  led 
by  members  of  the  weaker  party  in  England 
did  declare  for  toleration,  but  this  toleration  was 
obligatory  under  the  terms  of  the  charter  granted 
to  Lord  Baltimore,  a  Catholic.  This  was  no 
doubt  prompted  by  the  desire  to  prevent  that 
Colony  from  oppressing  the  Protestants — the 
leaders  and  founders  of  the  Colony  being 
Catholics. 


Introductory  19 

The  founding  of  Virginia  was  not  the  work  of 
a  single  man,  nor  of  a  group  of  men,  nor  was 
it  indeed  in  any  sense  a  private  undertaking. 
Virginia  was  founded  by  England,  and  the  man 
at  the  head  of  the  movement  was  no  less  a 
personage  than  the  King  of  England.  James, 
by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of  England,  Scot- 
land, and  Ireland,  Defender  of  the  faith,  etc., 
was  the  director  and  the  guiding  hand  of  the 
movement,  though  not  its  immediate  originator. 
The  actual  work  was  undertaken  by  others,  but 
they  were  acting  under  his  immediate  instruc- 
tions both  on  sea  and  land.  The  form  of  the 
charter  under  which  they  were  acting  was  that  of 
a  permission  to  locate  and  establish  a  colony  in 
Virginia,  the  transaction  thus  having  a  private 
character  to  the  extent  of  enabling  the  King  to 
disclaim  it  at  any  time  if  he  so  saw  fit,  in  order 
to  avoid  international  complications  if  they 
should  arise,  especially  with  Spain,  the  national 
enemy,  but  with  whom  England  was  then  at 
peace. 

The  fleet  which  was  to  carry  over  the  settlers 
was  placed  under  the  sole  command  of  Captain 
Christopher  Newport.  The  King  made  elabo- 
rate provisions  for  conducting  the  affairs  of 
the  Colony.  He  put  his  instructions  in  writing, 
delivered  them,  duly  signed  and  sealed,  and 
fastened  up  in  a  box,  to  Captain  Newport, 
Bartholomew  Gosnold,  and  John  Ratcllff.  This 
box,  kept  tightly  closed  during  the  voyage,  was 
not  to  be  opened  until  within  twenty-four  hours 


20  The  Forest  Primeval 

after  they  had  reached  Virginia.  These  instruc- 
tions contained  a  large  amount  of  practical 
advice,  the  combined  experience  of  other  coloni- 
zation enterprises,  and  worked  out  a  general 
scheme  of  colonial  government.  It  is  believed 
that  the  King  did  not  allow  the  box  to  be  opened 
until  the  destined  land  was  reached,  in  order  to 
prevent  any  conflict  of  authority  arising  between 
the  commander  at  sea  and  the  commander  who 
would  be  chosen  for  the  land.  Thus  the  settlers 
did  not  know  who  their  rulers  in  the  New  World 
were  to  be  until  the  night  following  the  day  of 
their  arrival.  Then  they  opened  this  mysterious 
box  and  learned  for  the  first  time  that  by  the 
King's  appointment  they  were  to  be  ruled  by 
*'His  Majesties  Council  for  the  first  Colony  in 
Virginia,"  and  that  this  Council  was  to  be 
composed  of  Captain  Edward-Maria  Wingfield, 
Captain  Bartholomew  Gosnold,  Captain  John 
Smith,  Captain  Christopher  Newport,  Captain 
John  Ratcliff,  Captain  John  Martin,  and  Captain 
George  Kendall.  Captain  John  Smith  was  at 
the  time  under  arrest,  on  account  of  a  mutiny 
which  had  occurred  during  the  voyage,  and  was 
not  allowed  at  first  to  serve.  He  was  kept  in 
confinement  in  all  for  thirteen  weeks,  apd  was 
not  released  until  June,  after  the  settlement  at 
Jamestown  had  been  begun.  The  other  men  de- 
signated selected  Captain  Wingfield  as  president. 
The  movements  of  the  colonists  after  their 
landing  were  largely  regulated  by  instructions 
given  to  them  by  the  Council  in  England,  which, 


Introductory  21 

having  been  also  appointed  by  the  King,  of 
course,  represented  his  authority. 

The  beginning  of  this  movement  under  the 
first  Charter,  that  granted  on  April  10,  1606, 
was,  therefore,  under  the  royal  authority,  and 
this  period  of  the  settlement  has  now  come  to 
be  understood  as  the  period  of  the  King's 
Government.  It  was  not  eminently  successful, 
and  a  revolution  took  place  when,  in  1609,  a 
new  Charter  was  granted,  the  Company  reorgan- 
ized, and  power  vested  more  fully  in  the  hands 
of  the  London  Company,  as  we  call  it,  with  a 
vast  accession  of  territory  covered  by  its  new 
grant.  For  fifteen  years  this  Company  carried 
on  patriotically  the  movement  under  that  and 
still  a  third  Charter,  further  enlarging  its  scope. 
At  the  close  of  this  decade  and  a  half,  the  Com- 
pany was  finally  overthrown  by  the  same  King 
James  L,  who,  by  a  Quo  Warranto  proceeding, 
revoked  these  charters  on  June  26,  1624,  and 
resumed  the  government  of  the  Colony,  which 
then  continued  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Crown  until  the  Revolution. 

The  undertaking  was  too  great  for  any  in- 
dividual, or  set  of  individuals.  The  King's  first 
Government  or  Company  did  not  succeed.  The 
London  Company  depleted  its  treasury  in  the 
attempt,  and  met  with  even  greater  losses  than 
Raleigh  himself  had  suffered.  This  work  was 
governmental  in  its  conception,  continental  in 
scope,  and  hazardous  in  execution.  It  required 
the  resources  of  an  established  government  to 


22  The  Forest  Primeval 

bear  such  burdens,  and  to  carry  to  a  successful 
issue  so  gigantic  an  undertaking,  and  it  was  the 
estabhshed  government  of  England  which  began, 
and  which  finally  accomplished,  the  colonization 
of  Virginia. 

The  founders  of  the  Colony  have  suffered  a 
slight  injury  due  to  the  change  in  the  meaning 
of  a  word.  Two  classes  of  persons  who  aided  in 
this  great  enterprise  were  called  "adventurers." 
This  word  has  in  the  course  of  three  hundred 
years  acquired  a  meaning  different  from  what  it 
bore  at  the  time  of  the  founding  of  Virginia.  A 
more  or  less  bad  signification  now  attaches  to 
the  word  adventurer,  and  a  still  worse  to  the 
feminine  form — adventuress.  No  such  meaning 
applied  in  1607.  The  two  kinds  of  adventurers, 
then  spoken  of  were:  those  who  adventured  their 
money  in  the  enterprise,  whom  we  would  now 
call  investors;  and  those  who  went  further,  and 
adventured  their  persons,  these  we  would  now 
call  colonists  or  immigrants.  The  idea  under- 
lying its  use  in  both  cases  was  that  in  the  first 
instance  one  risked  his  means  in  furtherance  of 
the  enterprise,  and  the  latter  that  he  risked  his 
life.  The  men  of  that  day  would  have  been 
amazed  if  they  had  been  told  that  by  the  use 
of  the  well-known  and  deeply  significant  word 
adventurer,  any  deduction  would  in  the  future 
be  drawn  that  they  were  of  such  a  class  as  we  now 
think  of  when  we  call  persons  "adventurers.'* 
The  patriotic  gentlemen,  men  of  affairs,  members 
of  Parliament,  nobles,  peers,  and  great  municipal 


Introductory  23 

corporations  who  subscribed  to  the  stock  of  this 
company  would  surely  have  laughed  at  being 
called  "adventurers"  in  the  modern  meaning  of 
the  word. 

The  religious  principles  which  characterized 
the  movement  at  its  inception  were  steadily 
adhered  to  for  many  years  thereafter.  The 
colonists  came  over  with  fixed  convictions 
and  a  settled  policy  as  to  the  government  of  both 
State  and  Church. 

As  civil  government  extended,  pari  passu 
ecclesiastical  government  extended.  Over  every 
square  mile  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  county 
court,  the  jurisdiction  of  som.e  parish,  equally 
as  vigorous  and  well  defined,  also  extended. 
Scattered  all  over  Virginia  were  parish  churches, 
chapels  of  ease,  and  glebes  of  ministers.  Roman 
Catholics  for  a  long  time  were  not  allowed  in  the 
Colony.  Lord  Baltimore  himself  was  driven  out 
on  this  ground. 

This  ecclesiastical  polity  of  Virginia,  as  to  its 
adherence  to  the  Church  of  England  and  its 
parish  system,  continued  in  full  vigor  down 
to  the  Revolution. 

What  made  Virginia  so  much  respected  by  the 
other  colonies,  by  the  mother-country,  and  by 
her  own  sons  was  the  character  of  her  leading 
people,  her  orderly  governmental  construction, 
and  the  principles  for  which  she  stood.  Aristo- 
cratic in  all  social  matters,  well  governed  by  the 
members  of  its  aristocracy,  who  filled  all  public 
offices,  and  sincerely  attached  to  the  Church  of 


24  The  Forest  Primeval 

England,  Virginia,  during  the  Colonial  period, 
presented  to  an  admiring  world  a  well  governed, 
vigorous  Colony,  loyal  to  the  Crown  and  loyal 
to  the  Church. 


I 


CHAPTER   II 

THE    INDIAN    CHARACTER 

ANTHROPOLOGISTS,  in  studying  the 
early  races  of  mankind,  and  characteriz- 
ing the  ages  in  which  they  hved  by  the 
implements  they  used,  have  called  one  the  Stone 
Age.  This  they  divide  into  two  principal  periods ; 
the  first,  the  rudest  and  least  developed,  when 
their  stone  implements  were  only  chipped  and 
rough,  they  call  the  paleolithic  or  ancient  Stone 
Age.  Then  came  an  advance  upon  this  stage, 
when  the  men  using  the  stone  implements  were 
able  to  make  them  smooth.  This  age  they  call 
the  neolithic,  or  new — that  is,  the  more  recent 
Stone  Age.  To  this  latter  period  belonged  the 
Indians  living  in  Virginia  at  the  time  of  the 
Conquest. 

Viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  their  develop- 
ment, being  cultivators  of  the  soil,  they  are 
classed  as  barbarous.  West  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  stretching  north  into  Canada  and 
covering  Alaska,  were  Indians  who  lived  only 
by  hunting  and  fishing,  and  so  are  classed  as 
savage.  To  the  south,  in  Mexico  and  Central 
America,  were  other  Indians  who,  possessing 
25 


26  The  Forest  Primeval 

some  of  the  arts  and  sciences,  are  classed  as 
half-civilized. 

Viewed  generically,  the  Virginia  Indians  were 
a  part  of  the  great  Algonquin  stock,  whose 
branches  covered  a  large  portion  of  the  continent 
east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  reached  up  into  the 
eastern  part  of  Canada.  Of  this  race  were 
the  Powhatans,  the  Shawnees,  the  Delawares,  the 
Illinois,  the  Miamis,  the  Kickapoos,  the  Potta- 
watomies,  the  Ottawas,  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  the 
Chippewas,  the  Objibwas,  the  Mohegans,  the 
Pequots,  the  Narragansetts,  the  Wampanoags, 
the  Tarratines,  the  Abenakis,  and  a  host  of 
others. 

As  a  little  island  in  this  sea  of  Algonquinism 
were  the  Winnebagos,  on  the  western  shore  of 
Lake  Michigan,  and,  as  a  very  large  island, 
the  Iroquois,  stretching  from  Lake  Huron  to  the 
Hudson,  and  comprehending  the  Hurons,  the 
Eries,  the  Six  Nations — that  is,  the  Senecas, 
the  Cayugas,  the  Onondagas,  the  Oneidas,  the 
Mohawks,  and  the  Susquehannocks. 

To  the  south  of  the  Algonquins,  whose  line 
roughly  corresponded  to  that  dividing  Virginia 
from  North  Carolina,  lay  a  branch  of  the  Iroquois 
comprised  of  the  Cherokees  and  the  Tuscaroras. 
They  occupied,  however,  only  a  part  of  this 
southern  boundary. 

South,  southeast,  and  southwest  of  these, 
stretching  down  to  the  end  of  Florida,  were  the 
Maskoki,  or  Mobilians,  comprising  the  Catawbas 
and  the  Yemassees;  in  North  Carolina  and  South 


The  Indian  Character  27 

Carolina,  the  Chickasaws  and  Choctaws;  on  the 
Mississippi,  with  a  small  territory  of  the  Natchez 
Indians  between  them,  the  Creeks  in  Georgia, 
and  the  Seminoles  in  Florida. 

All  of  these  nations  were  subject  to  many- 
subdivisions  of  tribes. 

It  was  with  some  of  the  tribes  of  the  Catawbas 
that  the  Roanoke  Island  settlers  had  to  deal,  as 
it  was  with  the  Powhatans  that  the  Jamestown 
settlers  were  brought  into  conflict. 

Although  grouped  under  one  general  name  the 
various  nations  or  tribes  included  under  it  were 
by  no  means  therefore  friends  or  allies.  They 
were  often  bitter  enemies.  Examples  of  this 
abound  in  all  the  records  of  those  times.  To 
such  an  extent  was  this  true,  that  if  the  Indians 
had  not  been  conquered  by  the  white  man,  they 
were  still  in  danger  of  being  exterminated  by 
each  other. 

Of  all  the  things  in  the  forest  in  which  the 
Virginia  Indians  lived,  that  which  seems  to  have 
first  attracted  the  attention  of  the  early  writers 
was  the  grapevines.  Captain  Barlow,  in  his 
account  of  the  first  voyage  made  on  behalf 
of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  mentions  them.  They 
climbed  to  the  tops  of  high  cedars,  they  abounded 
on  the  sand  and  on  the  green  soil,  on  the  hills, 
in  the  plains,  on  every  little  shrub.  They  spread 
their  leafy,  Briarean  arms  into  the  very  sea  itself. 
Glover  tells  of  this  same  profusion,  and  says  that 
they  twined  about  the  oaks  and  poplars,  and 


28  The  Forest  Primeval 

ran  to  the  tops  of  these  stately  monarchs  of  the 
forest. 

Other  trees  which  were  important  and 
characteristic  were  the  pine,  walnut,  cypress, 
juniper,  ash,  elm,  gum,  locust,  maple,  willow, 
magnolia,  mimosa,  honeypod,  horse-chestnut, 
chestnut,  beech,  holly,  hickory,  sycamore,  and 
the  live  oak;  with  the  dogwood,  sassafras,  and 
chinkapin  of  the  size  of  large  bushes.  The  pines 
rose  often  to  a  majestic  height,  and  many  of  the 
others  were  equally  imposing  with  their  centuries 
of  growth  behind  them. 

This  forest  was  inhabited  not  only  by  Indians, 
but  by  wolves,  in  such  numbers  that  it  took  many 
years  to  exterminate  them,  deer,  bears,  wild 
cats,  raccoons,  possums,  flying-squirrels,  rabbits, 
squirrels,  beavers,  otters,  rattlesnakes,  moccasins, 
long  black  snakes,  and  short  and  thick  black 
snakes,  which  also  abounded  there,  and  in  the 
fields  were  the  corn-snakes. 

There  were  also  eagles,  hawks,  cormorants, 
fish-hawks,  turkey-buzzards,  owls,  crows,  wild 
turkeys,  pheasants,  partridges,  turtle-doves, 
pigeons,  mocking-birds,  redbirds,  blackbirds, 
blue-birds,  blue-jays,  robins,  cedar-birds,  cat- 
birds, and  humming-birds. 

On  the  marshes  were  marsh-hens,  snipe,  yellow 
shanks,  and  cranes. 

On  the  water,  in  season,  were  wild  ducks, 
brant,  geese,  and  swan,  in  flocks  which  were 
Innumerable. 

In  the  water  were  sharks,  porpoises,  turtles, 


The  Indian  Character  29 

stingrays,  toad-fishes,  sheepsheads,  drums,  stur- 
geons, perches,  croakers,  tailors,  trout,  spots, 
eels,  crabs,  and  great  shoals  of  mussels  and 
oysters. 

Gnats,  flies,  and  mosquitoes  were  also  there. 

Such,  in  the  rudest  outline  merely,  were  the 
flora  and  fauna  of  the  country  inhabited  by  such 
of  the  Virginia  Indians  as  were  first  seen  by  the 
white  man.  It  was  a  flat  country,  only  a  few  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea.  It  abounded  in 
watercourses.  The  great  Atlantic  itself  washed 
its  low-lying,  sandy  shore;  in  part  it  was  inter- 
sected by  the  great  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  further 
cut  to  pieces  by  broad  sounds,  majestic  rivers, 
and  vast  arms  of  the  sea.  Its  prairie-like 
stretches  of  marsh  often  formed  a  characteristic 
feature  of  the  landscape. 

The  race  of  people  which  lived  here  was 
strongly  marked,  and  possessed  a  perfectly  well 
defined  government.  They  were  of  a  warlike 
character,  blood-thirsty  and  cruel.  They  had 
been  stationary,  so  far  as  progress  in  the  arts  is 
concerned,  from  aboriginal  times,  apparently, 
and  have  left  us  no  works  by  which  we  can 
remember  them;  not  a  ruin,  except  some  scat- 
tered burial-mounds,  not  a  road,  scarcely  a  visible 
vestige  of  them  remains  in  this  part  of  the  world 
to  tell  the  present  generation  that  another,  a 
vanished,  rather  than  a  conquered,  race  once 
dwelt  upon  the  soil  we  occupy.  They  have, 
however,  one  set  of  monuments  still  left,  which 


30  The  Forest  Primeval 

will  probably  defy  the  erosion  of  time — a  few  of 
their  words  still  live  in  the  names  of  streams, 
lakes,  places,  and  counties.  These  have  been 
accepted,  and  so  perpetuated,  by  the  destroyers 
of  the  race  which  gave  them. 

Still,  we  know  these  people  fairly  well,  and 
some  of  their  leading  characters,  existing  at  the 
time  of  the  invasion,  stand  out  boldly  upon  the 
pages  of  history.  The  three  principal  invaders 
of  America — the  Spaniards,  the  French,  and  the 
En'glish, — each  pursued,  as  to  the  natives,  a 
different  and  a  characteristic  policy.  The  Span- 
iards proceeded  at  once  to  crush,  exterminate, 
annihilate  them.  The  French,  with  adroitness, 
and  a  deeply  laid  policy,  courted  them,  studied 
them,  entered  into  alliances  with  them,  plunged 
into  their  politics,  and  fought  side  by  side  with 
them  in  their  battles.  The  English,  without 
carrying  their  diplomacy  so  far  as  did  the  French, 
yet  entered  into  many  treaties  with  them,  which 
extended  in  importance  as  the  Colony  stretched 
farther  and  farther  into  the  west,  and  came  into 
contact  with  larger  nations,  and  involved  also 
other  colonies.  While  a  great  deal  of  the  for- 
ward movement  was  by  force  of  arms,  an  equal 
amount  at  least  was  due  to  these  negotiations 
and  treaties.  Like  the  French,  Virginia,  in  the 
course  of  its  history,  had  many  treaties  of 
friendship  and  alliance  with  Indian  tribes  and 
nations. 

The  Indians  were  in  possession  of  the  country 
when  the  white  man  came,  and  they  had  not 


The  Indian  Character  31 

invited  him  to  come  over  and  take  their  country 
from  them.  The  natural  relation  of  the  two 
races  was,  therefore,  one  of  enmity,  which  must 
have  been  accentuated,  on  the  part  of  the  savage, 
by  the  visible  superiority  and  the  irresistible 
encroachments  of  the  invader,  and  on  the  part 
of  the  English,  by  the  barbarous  habits  and 
savage  surroundings  of  the  Indian. 

War  with  these  people  was  therefore  inevitable, 
although  we  would  gladly  have  avoided  it. 
Indeed  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  to  Chris- 
tianity was  one  of  the  reasons  for  making  the 
settlement,  although  a  subordinate  one.  That 
settlement  had  to  be  made,  peaceably,  if  possible, 
but  still  it  had  to  be  made.  There  were  the 
Indians.  With  no  desire  to  make  war  upon  them 
nor  to  exterminate  them,  but  rather  with  a  sin- 
cere intention  of  improving  them,  the  English 
came.  But  they  came  prepared  to  defend  them- 
selves.    They  brought  cannon  with  them. 

Let  us  now  see  what  kind  of  a  race  of  bar- 
barians it  was  which  our  English  ancestors,  men 
who  in  many  cases  were  fresh  from  fighting  the 
well  trained  Spaniards  in  the  great  war  then 
still  going  on  in  the  highly  cultivated  Nether- 
lands, were  now  called  upon  to  confront  in  the 
tangled  forests  of  the  New  World. 

Strachey  thus  describes  their  color  and  features : 

"They  are  generally  of  a  color  brown  or  rather 

tawny,  which  they  cast  themselves  into  with  a 

kind  of  arsenick  stone,  like  red  patise  or  orpi- 


32  The  Forest  Primeval 

ment/  or  rather  red  tempered  ointments  of  earth 
and  the  juice  of  certains  crused""  roots,  when  they 
come  unto  certain  years,  and  this  they  do  (keep- 
ing themselves  still  so  smudged  and  besmeered) 
either  for  the  custom  of  the  countr}^,  or  the 
better  to  defend  them  (since  they  go  most  what 
naked)  from  the  stinging  of  musquitoes,  kinds  of 
flies  or  biting  gnats,  such  as  the  Greeks  called 
scynipes,  as  yet  in  great  swarms  within  the 
Arches,^  and  which  here  breed  abundantly 
amongst  the  marish-whorts"^  and  fen-berries,^  and 
of  the  same  hue  are  their  women;  howbeit,  it  is 
supposed  neither  of  them  naturally  born  so 
discolored;  for  Captain  Smith  (living  sometimes 
amongst  them)  affirmeth  how  they  are  from  the 
womb  indifferent  white,  but  as  the  men,  so  do 
the  women,  dye  and  disguise  themselves  into 
this  tawny  color,  esteeming  it  the  best  beauty 
to  be  nearest  such  a  kind  of  murrey^  as  a  sodden^ 
quince  is  of  (to  liken  it  to  the  nearest  color  I  can) 
for  which  they  daily  anoint  both  face  and  bodies 
all  over  with  such  a  kind  of  fucus^  or  unguent  as 
can  cast  them  into  that  stain;  after  their 
anointing  (which  is  daily)  they  dry  in  the  sun, 
and  thereby  make  their  skins  (besides  the  color) 
more  black  and  spotted,  which  the  sun  kissing 
oft  and  hard,  adds  to  their  painting  the  more 
rough  and  rugged. 

"Their  heads  and  shoulders  they  paint  often- 

*The  trisulphide  of  arsenic.  'Crushed. 

3  The  sailors'  term  for  the  Archipelago.  ^  The  cranberry. 

5  Another  name  or  kind  of  cranberry.      *  Mulberry.       7  Boiled. 
*  Latin,  a  red  dye,  generally  understood  for  alkanet,  or  rouge. 


The  Indian  Character  33 

est,  and  those  red,  with  the  root  pochone,'  brayed^ 
to  powder,  mixed  with  oil  of  the  walnut  or  bear's 
grease;  this  they  hold  in  summer  doth  check  the 
heat,  and  in  winter  arms  them  in  some  measure 
against  the  cold.  Many  other  forms  of  paintings 
they  use;  but  he  is  the  most  gallant  who  is  the 
most  monstrous  and  ugly  to  behold. 

"Their  hair  is  black,  grosse,  long,  and  thick ;  the 
men  have  no  beards;  their  noses  are  broad,  flat, 
and  full  at  the  end,  great  big  lips,  and  wide  mouths, 
yet  nothing  so  unsightly  as  the  Moors;  they  are 
generally  tall  of  stature,  and  straight,  of  comely 
proportion,  and  the  women  have  handsome  limbs, 
slender  arms,  and  pretty  hands,  and  when  they 
sing  they  have  a  pleasant  tange^  in  their  voices.  ""^ 

"The  men  are  very  strong,  of  able  bodies,  and 
full  of  agility,  accustoming  themselves  to  endure 
hardness,  to  lie  in  the  woods,  under  a  tree,  by  a 
small  fire,  in  the  worst  of  winter,  in  frost  and 
snow,  or  in  the  weeds  and  grass,  as  in  ambuscado, 
to  accomplish  their  purposes  in  the  summer.'  ^ 

"The  people  differ  very  much  in  stature, 
especially  in  language.  Some  being  very  great 
as  the  Sus-que-han-nocks;  others  very  little,  as 
the  Wigh-co-com-o-coes ;  but  generally  tall  and 
straight,  of  a  comely  proportion,  and  of  a  color 
brown,  when  they  are  of  an  age,  but  they  are 
born  white.  Their  hair  is  generally  black,  but 
few  have  any  beards.  The  men  wear  half  their 
beards  shaven,  the  other  half  long;  for  barbers 

'Puccoon;  the  blood  root.  'Beaten.  ^Tone. 

-f  Hislorie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  63  s  Ibid.,  p.  68. 

3 


34  The  Forest  Primeval 

they  use  their  women,  who  with  two  shells 
will  grate  away  the  hair,  of  any  fashion  they 
please.  The  women's  are  cut  in  many  fashions, 
agreeable  to  their  years,  but  ever  some  part 
remaineth  long." 

''They  are  inconstant  in  everything,  but  what 
fear  constraineth  them  to  keep.  Crafty,  tim- 
orous, quick  of  apprehension  and  very  ingenious. 
Some  are  of  disposition  fearful,  some  bold,  most 
cautious,  all  savage.  Generally  covetous  of 
copper,  beads,  and  such  like  trash.  They  are 
soon  moved  to  anger,  and  so  malicious,  that  they 
seldom  forget  an  injury;  they  seldom  steal  one 
from  another,  lest  their  conjurers  should  reveal 
it,  and  so  they  be  pursued  and  punished. 

"Their  women  are  careful  not  to  be  sus- 
pected of  dishonesty  without  the  leave  of  their 
husbands.' 

"They  are  treacherous,  suspicious  and  jealous, 
difficult  to  be  persuaded  or  imposed  upon,  and 
very  sharp,  hard  in  dealing,  and  ingenious  In 
their  way,  and  in  things  that  they  naturally 
know,  or  have  been  taught;  though  at  first  they 
are  very  obstinate,  and  unwilling  to  apprehend 
or  learn  novelties,  and  seem  stupid  and  silly 
to  strangers. 

"An  instance  of  their  resolute  stupidity  and 
obstinacy  In  receiving  a  new  custom,  I  have 
seen  In  the  prodigious  trouble  of  bringing  them  to 
sell  their  skins,  and  buy  gunpowder  by  weight; 
for  they  could  not  apprehend  the  power  and  jus- 

'  Smith's  General  History  of  Virginia,  vol.  i,  p.  129  et  seg. 


The  Indian  Character  35 

tice  of  the  stihiard' ;  but  with  the  scales  at  length 
they  apprehended  it  tolerably  well;  though  at 
first  they  insisted  upon  as  much  gunpowder  as 
the  skin  weighed,  which  was  much  more  than 
their  demand  in  measure. 

"They  have  tolerably  good  notions  of  natural 
justice,  equity,  honor  and  honesty,  to  the  rules 
whereof  the  great  men  strictly  adhere;  but  their 
common  people  will  lie,  cheat  and  steal. 

"An  instance  of  their  resolutions  for  satisfac- 
tion, we  have  in  the  death  of  Major  Wynne,  who 
was  shot  by  an  Indian,  because  one  of  our  ser- 
vants had  killed  one  of  their  great  men ;  and  upon 
the  trial  of  the  Indian,  they  pleaded  that  we  were 
the  aggressors,  and  that  they  never  rest  without 
revenge  and  reprisals;  and  that  now  they  said 
we  and  they  were  equal,  having  each  lost  a  great 
man:  wherefore,  to  avoid  more  bloodshed,  there 
was  a  necessity  to  pardon  the  Indian."^ 

Beverley  says:  "The  Indians  are  of  the  mid- 
dling and  largest  stature  of  the  English.  They 
are  straight  and  well  proportioned,  having  the 
cleanest  and  most  exact  limbs  in  the  world. 
They  are  so  perfect  in  their  outward  frame,  that 
I  never  heard  of  one  single  Indian,  that  was  either 
dwarfish,  crooked,  bandy-legged,  or  otherwise 
misshapen.  But  if  they  have  any  such  practice 
among  them,  as  the  Romans  had,  of  exposing 
such  children  till  they  died,  as  were  weak  and 
misshapen,  at  their  birth,  they  are  very  shy  of 

'  Steelyard — an  instrument  for  ascertaining  weight. 
'  Jones's  Present  State  of  Virginia,  pp.  1 1,  13,  17. 


36  The  Forest  Primeval 

confessing  it,  and  I  could  never  yet  learn  that 
they  had. 

"Their  color,  when  they  are  grown  up,  is  a 
chestnut  brown  and  tawny;  but  much  clearer  in 
their  infancy.  Their  skin  comes  afterwards  to 
harden  and  grow  blacker,  by  greasing  and 
sunning  themselves.  They  have  generally  coal 
black  hair,  and  very  black  eyes,  which  are  most 
commonly  graced  with  that  sort  of  squint  which 
many  of  the  Jews  are  observed  to  have.  Their 
women  are  generally  beautiful,  possessing  an 
uncommon  delicacy  of  shape  and  features,  and 
wanting  nd  charm  but  that  of  a  fair  complexion. 

''The  men  wear  their  hair  cut  after  several 
fanciful  fashions,  sometimes  greased  and  some- 
times painted.  The  great  men,  or  better  sort, 
preserve  a  long  lock  behind  for  distinction. 
They  pull  their  beards  up  by  the  roots  with  a 
mussel-shell;  and  both  men  and  women  do  the 
same  by  the  other  parts  of  their  body  for  cleanli- 
ness sake.  The  women  wear  the  hair  of  the  head 
very  long,  either  hanging  at  their  backs,  or 
brought  before  in  a  single  lock,  bound  up  with  a 
fillet  of  peak'  or  beads;  sometimes  also  they  wear 
it  neatly  tied  up  in  a  knot  behind.  It  is  com- 
monly greased,  and  shining  black,  but  never 
painted. 

"The  people  of  condition  of  both  sexes,  wear 
a  sort  of  coronet  on  their  heads,  from  four  to  six 
inches  broad,  open  at  the  top,  and  composed  of 
peak  or  beads,  or  else  of  both   interwoven  to- 

'  Beads  made  from  shells. 


The  Indian  Character  37 

gether,  and  worked  into  figures,  made  by  a  nice 
mixture  of  the  colors.  Sometimes  they  wear  a 
wreath  of  dyed  furs;  as  Hkewise  bracelets  on 
their  necks  and  arms.  The  common  people  go 
bare-headed  only  sticking  large  shining  feathers 
about  their  heads,  as  their  fancies  lead  them. 

"Their  clothes  are  a  large  mantle,  carelessly 
wrapped  about  their  bodies,  and  sometimes  girt 
close  in  the  middle  with  a  girdle.  The  upper 
part  of  this  mantle  is  drawn  close  upon  the 
shoulders,  and  the  other  hangs  below  their  knees. 
When  that's  thrown  off  they  have  only  for 
modesty  sake  a  piece  of  cloth,  or  a  small  skin, 
tied  round  their  waist,  which  reaches  down  to 
the  middle  of  the  thigh.  The  common  sort  tie 
only  a  string  round  their  middle,  and  pass  a  piece 
of  cloath  or  skin  round  between  their  thighs, 
which  they  turn  at  each  end  over  the  string. 

"Their  shoes,  when  they  wear  any,  are  made  of 
an  entire  piece  of  buck-skin;  except  when  they 
sew  a  piece  to  the  bottom,  to  thicken  the  sole. 
They  are  fastened  on  with  running  strings,  the 
skin  being  drawn  together  like  a  purse  on  the  top 
of  the  foot,  and  tied  round  the  ankle.  The 
Indian  name  of  this  kind  of  shoe  is  moccasin. 

"But  because  a  draft  of  these  things  will 
inform  the  reader  more  at  first  view,  than  a 
description  in  many  words,  I  shall  present 
him  with  the  following  prints' ;  wherein  he  is  to 
take  notice,  that  the  air  of  the  face,  as  well  as 

'  This  refers  to  all  the  pictures  illustrating  Indian  life  which  are 
distributed  through  this  volume. 


38  The  Forest  Primeval 

the  ornaments  of  the  body,  are  exactly  repre- 
sented, being  all  drawn  by  the  life."' 

With  reference  to  the  pictures  above  referred 
to  illustrating  the  Indian  habits,  customs,  and 
houses,  we  will  say  that  they  are  those  drawn  in 
Virginia,  in  1585,  by  John  White,  one  of  the 
party  which  founded  the  celebrated  settlement  of 
Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  at  Roanoke.  The  drawings 
of  White  were  carried  to  Europe  the  next  year, 
and  engraved  by  the  famous  artist  Theodorus  de 
Bry,  of  Frankfort.  The  original  leaves  of  these 
drawings  are  now  preserved  in  the  British 
Museum. 

These  pictures  are  so  well  drawn  and  engraved, 
that  they  have  been  reproduced  more  than  once 
before.  Fourteen  of  them  are  found  in  Beverley. 
They  are  also  seen  in  enlarged  form  in  various 
places,  and  are  the  most  authentic  presentation 
we  have  of  this  vanished  people. 

In  this  same  settlement,  was  Thomas  Hariot, 
from  whose  narrative  of  the  first  plantation  in 
Virginia  in  1585  we  liberally  borrow.  His  work 
was  first  printed  in  London  in  1588,  and  after- 
wards, with  White  and  De  Bry's  illustrations,  in 
Frankfort  in  1590.  A  commentator,  speaking  of 
these,  says:  "The  illustrations  are  of  distinct 
anthropological  importance  and  exactness,  and 
convey  a  clearer  notion  of  the  ways  and  manners 
of  the  Red  Indians  at  the  time  of  the  English 
plantation  than  any  narrative  could  express." 

It  adds  an  additional  interest  to  these  pictures, 

'  Beverley's  History  of  Virginia,  book  3,  pp.  1-3. 


^' 


The  Indian  Character  39 

to  know  that  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  sent  White  over 
to  draw  for  him  pictures  of  the  natives,  so  as  to 
illustrate  their  habits  and  customs.  They  relate 
particularly  to  the  towns  of  Roanoke,  Pom-e-i-ock, 
and  Se-co-ta,  which  were  near  the  Roanoke  set- 
tlement, but  they  are  characteristic  of  the 
whole  section,  and  strictly  accord  with  what 
is  written  directly  relating  to  the  inhabitants 
of  Virginia. 

The  engraver,  De  Bry,  himself  thus  speaks  of 
these  pictures  in  his  dedication  to  Raleigh  of  the 
work  of  Hariot,  which  was  illustrated  by  them. 
After  stating  that  he  thought  every  one  should 
strive  to  express  to  Raleigh  his  appreciation  of  his 
labors  at  colonization,  he  says:  "I  have  thought 
that  I  could  find  no  better  occasion  to  declare 
it,  than  taking  the  pains  to  cut  in  copper,  the 
most  diligently  and  well  that  were  in  my  possible 
to  do,  the  figures  which  do  lively  represent  the 
form  and  manner  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  same 
country  with  their  ceremonies,  solemn  feasts, 
and  the  manner  and  situation  of  their  towns  or 
villages." 

"The  princes  of  Virginia  are  attired  in  such 
manner  as  is  expressed  in  this  figure.'  They 
wear  the  hair  of  their  heads  long  and  bind  up  the 
end  of  the  same  in  a  knot  under  their  ears.  Yet 
they  cut  the  top  of  their  heads  from  the  forehead 
to  the  nape  of  the  neck  in  manner  of  a  coxcomb, 
sticking  a  fair  long  feather  of  some  bird  at  the 
beginning  of  the  crest  upon  their  foreheads,  and 

'  This  refers  to  the  first  picture. 


40  The  Forest  Primeval 

another  short  one  on  both  sides  about  their  ears. 
They  hang  at  their  ears  either  thick  pearls,  or 
somewhat  else,  as  the  claw  of  some  great  bird, 
as  Cometh  in  to  their  fancy.  Moreover  they 
either  pounce'  or  paint  their  forehead,  cheeks, 
chin,  body,  arms,  and  legs,  yet  in  another  sort 
than  the  inhabitants  of  Florida.  They  wear  a 
chain  about  their  necks  of  pearls  or  beads  of 
copper,  which  they  much  esteem,  and  thereof 
wear  they  also  bracelets  on  their  arms.  Under 
their  breasts  about  their  bellies  appear  certain 
spots,  where  they  use  to  let  themselves  bleed, 
when  they  are  sick.  They  hang  before  them  the 
skin  of  some  beast  very  finely  dressed  in  such 
sort,  that  the  tail  hangeth  down  behind.  They 
carry  a  quiver  made  of  small  rushes  holding  their 
bow  ready  bent  in  one  hand,  and  an  arrow  in 
the  other,  ready  to  defend  themselves.  In  this 
manner  they  go  to  war,  or  to  their  solemn  feasts 
and  banquets.  They  take  much  pleasure  in 
hunting  of  deer  whereof  there  is  great  store  in  the 
country,  for  it  is  fruitful,  pleasant,  and  full  of 
goodly  woods.  It  hath  also  store  of  rivers  full 
of  divers  sorts  of  fish.  When  they  go  to  battle 
they  paint  their  bodies  in  the  most  terrible 
manner  that  they  can  devise. 

"The  inhabitants  of  all  the  country  for  the 
most  part  have  marks  rased ^  on  their  backs, 
whereby  it  may  be  known  what  prince's  subjects 
they  be,  or  of  what  place  they  have  their  original. 
For  which  cause  we  have  set  down  those  marks  in 

'  Tattoo.  *  Scratched. 


The  Indian  Character  41 

this  figure,  and  have  annexed  the  names  of  the 
places,  that  they  might  more  easily  be  discerned. 
Which  industry  hath  God  indued  them  withal 
although  they  be  very  simple,  and  rude.  And 
to  confess  a  truth,  I  cannot  remember  that  ever 
I  saw  a  better  or  quieter  people  than  they.' 

"The  marks  which  I  observed  among  them,  are 
here  put  down  in  order  following: 

"The  mark  which  is  expressed  by  A.^  belong- 
eth  to  Win-gi-na,  the  chief  lord  of  Roanoac. 

"That  which  hath  B.  is  the  mark  of  Win-gi-na 
his  sister's  husband.^ 

"Those  which  be  noted  with  the  letters  of 
C.  and  D.  belong  unto  divers  chief  lords  in 
Se-co-tam. 

"Those  which  have  the  letters  of  E.  F.  are  cer- 
tain chief  men  of  Pom-e-i-ock,  and  A-quas-cog-oc."^ 

"The  upper  part  of  his  hair  is  cut  short,  to 
make  a  ridge,  \a  hich  stands  up  like  the  comb  of  a 
cock,  the  rest  is  either  shorn  off,  or  knotted 
behind  his  ear.  On  his  head  are  stuck  three 
feathers  of  the  wild  turkey,  pheasant,  hawk, 
or  such  like.  At  his  ear  is  hung  a  fine  shell,  with 
pearl  drops.  At  his  breast  is  a  tablet  or  fine  shell, 
smooth   as    polished   marble,  which    sometimes 

'  It  is  to  be  remembered,  in  considering  this  statement,  that  Hariot 
had  no  desire  to  frighten  off  possible  settlers.  This  would  prejudice 
the  interests  of  his  patron,  Raleigh,  to  whom  this  report  was  made. 

^  See  plate,  p.  38.  Roanoac  was  the  town  of  Roanoke,  on  Roanoke 
Island. 

3  That  is,  Wingina's  brother-in-law. 

^  The  places  here  referred  to  were  in  the  neighborhood  of  Roanoke 
Island,  where  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  settlement  was  attempted. 
Hariot's  Narrative,  iii.  and  xxiii. 


42  The  Forest  Primeval 

also  has  etched  on  it,  a  star,  half  moon,  or  other 
figure,  according  to  the  maker's  fancy.  Upon 
his  neck,  and  wrists,  hang  strings  of  beads,  peak 
and  roanoke. '  His  apron  is  made  of  a  deer  skin, 
gashed  round  the  edges,  which  hang  like  tassels 
or  fringe;  at  the  upper  end  of  the  fringe  is  an 
edging  of  peak,  to  make  it  finer.  His  quiver  is 
of  a  thin  bark;  but  sometimes  they  make  it  of 
the  skin  of  a  fox  or  young  wolf,  with  the  head 
hanging  to  it,  which  has  a  wild  sort  of  terror 
in  it;  and  to  make  it  yet  more  warlike,  they  tie 
it  on  with  the  tail  of  a  panther,  buffalo  or  such 
like,  letting  the  end  hang  down  between  their 
legs.  The  pricked  line:  on  his  shoulders,  breast 
and  legs,  represent  the  figures  painted  thereon. 
In  his  left  hand  he  holds  a  bow,  and  in  his  right 
an  arrow.  The  mark  upon  his  shoulder  blade, 
is  a  distinction  used  by  the  Indians  in  travelhng, 
to  show  the  nation  they  are  of.  And  perhaps  is 
the  same  with  that  which  Baron  Lahontan  calls 
the  arms  and  heraldry  of  the  Indians.  Thus 
several  lettered  marks  are  used  by  several  other 
nations  about  Virginia,  when  they  make  a 
journey  to  their  friends  and  allies. 

"The  Landscape  is  a  natural  representation  of 
an  Indian  field.  "^ 

"  For  fishing,  hunting  and  wars,  they  use  much 
their  bow  and  arrows.  Their  arrows  are  made 
of  some  straight  young  sprigs,  which  they  head 

'  A  kind  of  shell  money,  made  of  the  cockle  shell,  of  less  value  than 
peak. 

'  Beverley,  book  3,  p.  3-4. 


The  Indian  Character  43 

with  bone,  some  two  or  three  inches  long.  These 
they  use  to  shoot  at  squirrels  on  trees.  Another 
sort  of  arrow  they  use  made  of  reeds.  These  are 
pieced  with  wood,  headed  with  splinters  of  crys- 
tal, or  some  sharp  stone,  the  spurs  of  a  turkey,  or 
the  bill  of  some  bird. 

"  For  his  knife  he  hath  the  splinter  of  a  reed  to 
cut  his  feathers  in  form.  With  this  knife  also, 
he  will  joint  a  deer,  or  any  beast,  shape  his  shoes, 
buskins,  mantles,  etc. 

"To  make  the  notch  of  his  arrow  he  hath  the 
tooth  of  a  beaver,  set  in  a  stick,  wherewith  he 
grateth  it  by  degrees. 

''His  arrow  head  he  quickly  maketh  with  a 
little  bone,  which  he  ever  weareth  at  his  bracert,' 
of  any  splint  of  a  stone,  or  glass  in  the  form  of  a 
heart,  and  these  they  glew  to  the  end  of  their 
arro\^•s.  With  the  sinews  of  deer,  and  the  tops 
of  deer's  horns  boiled  to  a  jelly,  they  make  a 
glew  that  will  not  dissolve  in  cold  water.  ""^ 

"If  any  great  commander  arrive  at  the  habita- 
tion of  a  wer-6-ance,^  they  spread  a  mat  as  the 
Turks  do  a  carpet  for  him  to  sit  upon.  Upon 
another  right  opposite  they  sit  themselves. 
Then  do  all  with  a  tunable^  voice  of  shouting  bid 
him  welcome.  After  this  do  two  or  more  of 
their  chiefest  men  make  an  oration,  testifying 
their  love.  Which  they  do  with  such  vehemency, 
and  so  great  passions,  that  they  sweat  till  they 

'  Bracer,  the  wrist -guard  worn  on  the  left  arm  as  a  protection  from 
the  stroke  of  the  bow-string. 

'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  132.  ^  War  captain.  ^  Musical. 


44  The  Forest  Primeval 

drop,  and  are  so  out  of  breath  they  can  scarce 
speak.  So  that  a  man  would  take  them  to  be 
exceeding  angry,  or  stark  mad.  Such  victual 
as  they  have,  they  spread  freely. 

**  Their  manner  of  trading  is  for  copper,  beads, 
and  such  like,  for  which  they  give  such  commod- 
ities as  they  have,  as  skins,  fowl,  fish,  flesh,  and 
their  country  corn.  But  their  victuals  are  their 
chiefest  riches."' 

*'The  savages  bear  their  years  well,  for  when 
we  were  at  Pa-mon-kies^  we  saw  a  savage  who  by 
their  report  was  above  eight  score  years  of  age. 
His  eyes  were  sunk  into  his  head,  having  never  a 
tooth  in  his  mouth,  his  hair  all  gray  with  a 
reasonable  big  beard,  which  was  as  white  as  any 
snow.  It  is  a  miracle  to  see  a  savage  have  any 
hair  on  their  faces,  I  never  saw,  read,  nor  heard, 
any  have  the  like  before.  This  savage  was  as 
lustie  and  went  as  fast  as  any  of  us,  which  was 
strange  to  behold."^ 

"They  walk  one  after  another  in  a  line."'* 

"They  are  frequently  at  war  with  all  their 
neighbors,  or  most  of  them,  and  treat  their 
captive  prisoners  very  barbarously;  either  by 
scalping  them  (which  I  have  seen)  by  ripping 
off  the  crown  of  the  head,  which  they  wear  on  a 
thong,  by  their  side  as  a  signal  trophey  and  token 
of  victory   and   bravery.     Sometimes   they   tie 

^  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  136-7. 

2  The  territory  of  the  Pa-mun-key  Indians,  between  the  Pa- 
mun-key  and  Mat-ta-po-ny  rivers,  in  Virginia. 

3  Purchas,  vol.  iv.,  p.  16S9. 

4  Jones's  Present  State  of  Virginia,  pp.  8,  12. 


The  Indian  Character  45 

their  prisoners,  and  lead  them  bound  to  their 
town,  where  with  the  most  joyful  solemnity 
they  kill  them,  often  by  thrusting  in  several 
parts  of  their  bodies  skew  ers  of  light-wood  which 
burn  like  torches.  The  poor  victim  all  the  while 
(which  is  sometimes  two  or  three  days)  not  shew- 
ing the  least  symptom  of  grief,  nor  sign  of  pain, 
but  bearing  it  with  a  scornful  sullenness. 

"In  their  rejoicings  and  war  dances  they  with 
the  most  antic  gestures,  in  the  most  frightful 
dress,  with  a  hideous  noise,  enumerate  the 
enemies,  that  they  have  murdered,  and  such 
like  exploits. 

"They  attack  always  by  surprise,  and  will 
never  stand  their  ground  when  discovered;  but 
fly  to  ambush  whither  the  enemy  may  pursue 
with  peril  of  his  life. 

"They  bred  no  sort  of  cattle,  nor  had  anything 
that  could  be  called  riches.  They  valued  skins 
and  furs  for  use,  and  peak  and  re-o-noke'  for 
ornament. 

"The  Indians  never  forget  nor  forgive  an 
injury,  till  satisfaction  be  given,  be  it  national 
or  personal:  but  it  becomes  the  business  of  their 
whole  lives,  and  even  after  that,  the  revenge  is 
entailed  upon  their  posterity,  till  full  reparation 
be  made.""" 

This  statement  is  corroborated,  and  partly 
explained,  by  Glover,  who  says:  "They  are  very 
revengeful ;  for  if  any  one  chance  to  be  slain,  some 

'  Roanoke,  a  form  of  shell  money  already  described. 
»  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  56-7. 


46  The  Forest  Primeval 

of  the  relations  of  the  slain  person  will  kill  the 
murderer  or  some  of  his  family,  though  it  be  two 
or  three  generations  after,  having  no  justice  done 
amongst  them  in  this  respect  but  what  particular 
persons  do  themselves;  if  that  may  be  termed 
justice."' 

The  use  of  the  conch  shell  with  these  people 
was  diversified  and  important.  Besides  the 
wampum  peak,  and  white  peak  which  as  money 
and  ornament  was  made  of  it,  we  are  told: 

"The  Indians  also  make  pipes  of  this,  two  or 
three  inches  long,  and  thicker  than  ordinary, 
which  are  much  more  valuable.  They  also  make 
runtees  of  the  same  shell,  and  grind  them  as 
smooth  as  peak.  These  are  either  large  like  an 
oval  bead,  and  drilled  the  length  of  the  oval,  or 
else  they  are  circular  and  flat,  almost  an  inch 
over,  and  one-third  of  an  inch  thick,  and  drilled 
edgeways.  Of  this  shell  they  also  make  round 
tablets  of  about  four  inches  diameter,  which 
they  polish  as  smooth  as  the  other,  and  some- 
times they  etch  or  grave  thereon,  circles,  stars, 
a  half-moon,  or  any  other  figure  suitable  to  their 
fancy.  These  they  wear  instead  of  medals  before 
or  behind  their  neck,  and  use  the  peak,  runtees 
and  pipes  for  coronets,  bracelets,  belts  or  long 
strings  hanging  down  before  the  breast,  or  else 
they  lace  their  garments  with  them,  and  adorn 
their  tomahawks,  and  every  other  thing  that 
they  value. 

"They  have   also  another  sort  which   is   as 

'  Account  of  Virginia,  p.  26. 


The  Indian  Character  47 

current  among  them,  but  of  far  less  value;  and 
this  is  made  of  the  cockle  shell,  broke  into  small 
bits  with  rough  edges,  drilled  through  in  the  same 
manner  as  beads,  and  this  they  call  ro-e-noke, 
and  use  it  as  the  peak. 

*' These  sorts  of  money  have  their  rates  set 
upon  them  as  unalterable  and  current  as  the 
values  of  our  money  are. 

"The  Indians  have  likewise  some  pearl 
amongst  them,  and  formerly  had  many  more, 
but  where  they  got  them  is  uncertain,  except 
they  found  them  in  the  oyster  banks,  which  are 
frequent  in  this  country."' 

"Their  travels  they  perform  altogether  on 
foot,  the  fatigue  of  which  they  endure  to  admira- 
tion. They  make  no  other  provision  for  their 
journey,  but  their  gun  or  bow,  to  supply  them 
with  food  for  many  hundred  miles  together. 
If  they  carry  any  flesh  in  their  marches,  they 
barbicue^  it,  or  rather  dry  it  by  degrees,  at  some 
distance,  over  the  clear  coals  of  a  wood  fire;  just 
as  the  Charibees  are  said  to  preserve  the  bodies 
of  their  kings  and  great  men  from  corruption. 
Their  sauce  to  this  dry  meat  (if  they  have  any 
besides  a  good  stomach),  is  only  a  little  bear's  oil, 
or  oil  of  acorns;  which  last  they  force  out,  by 
boiling  the  acorns  in  a  strong  lye.  Sometimes 
also  in  their  travels,  each  man  takes  with  him  a 
pint  or  quart  of  rock-a-hom-o-nie,  that  Is,  the 
finest  Indian  corn  parched,  and  beaten  to  powder. 

'  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  58-9. 

'  Roast  whole  after  their  manner. 


48  The  Forest  Primeval 

When  they  find  their  stomach  empty,  (and 
cannot  stay  for  the  tedious  cookery  of  other 
things,)  they  put  about  a  spoonful  of  this  into 
their  mouths,  and  drink  a  draught  of  water  upon 
it,  which  stays  their  stomachs,  and  enables  them 
to  pursue  their  journey  without  delay.  But 
their  main  dependence  is  upon  the  game  they  kill 
by  the  way,  and  the  natural  fruits  of  the  earth. 
They  take  no  care  about  lodging  in  these  jour- 
neys; but  content  themselves  with  the  shade  of  a 
tree,  or  a  little  high  grass. 

"When  they  fear  being  discovered,  or  followed 
by  an  enemy  in  their  marches,  they,  every 
morning  having  first  agreed  where  they  shall 
rendezvous  at  night,  disperse  themselves  into  the 
woods,  and  each  takes  a  several  way,  that  so, 
the  grass  or  leaves  being  but  singly  prest,  may 
rise  again,  and  not  betray  them.  For  the 
Indians  are  very  artful  in  following  a  track,  even 
where  the  impressions  are  not  visible  to  other 
people,  especially  if  they  have  any  advantage 
from  the  loosness  of  the  earth,  from  the  stifi^ness 
of  the  grass,  or  the  stirring  of  the  leaves,  which 
in  the  winter  season  lie  very  thick  upon  the 
ground ;  and  likewise  afterwards,  if  they  do  not 
happen  to  be  burned. 

"When  in  their  travels,  they  meet  with  any 
waters,  which  are  not  fordable,  they  make  canoes 
of  birch  bark,  by  flipping  it  whole  off  the  tree,  in 
this  manner.  First,  they  gash  the  bark  quite 
round  the  tree,  at  the  length  they  would  have  the 
canoe  of,  then  slit  down  the  length  from  end  to 


The  Indian  Character  49 

end;  when  that  is  done,  they  with  their  toma- 
hawks easily  open  the  bark,  and  strip  it  whole  off. 
Then  they  force  it  open  with  sticks  in  the  middle, 
slope  the  underside  of  the  ends,  and  sew  them 
up,  which  helps  to  keep  the  belly  open,  or  if  the 
birch  trees  happen  to  be  small,  they  sew  the 
bark  of  t\\'0  together;  the  seams  they  dawb  with 
clay  or  mud,  and  then  pass  over  in  these  canoes 
by  two,  three,  or  more  at  a  time,  according  as 
they  are  in  bigness.  By  reason  of  the  lightness 
of  these  boats,  they  can  easily  carry  them  over 
land,  if  they  foresee  that  they  are  like  to  meet 
with  any  more  waters,  that  may  impede  their 
march;  or  else  they  leave  them  at  the  water-side, 
making  no  further  account  of  them;  except  it 
be  to  repass  the  same  waters  in  their  return. 

"They  have  a  peculiar  way  of  receiving 
strangers,  and  distinguishing  whether  they  come 
as  friends  or  enemies;  tho'  they  do  not  under- 
stand each  other's  language:  and  that  is  by  a 
singular  method  of  smoking  tobacco;  in  which 
these  things  are  always  observed. 

"  I.  They  take  a  pipe  much  larger  and  bigger 
than  the  common  tobacco  pipe,  expressly  made 
for  that  purpose,  with  which  all  towns  are  plen- 
tifully provided;  they  call  them  the  Pipes  of 
Peace. 

"2.  This  pipe  they  always  fill  with  tobacco 
before  the  face  of  the  strangers,  and  light  it. 

"3.  The  chief  man  of  the  Indians,  to  whom 
the  strangers  come,  takes  two  or  three  whiffs, 
and  then  hands  it  to  the  chief  of  the  strangers. 


50  The  Forest  Primeval 

"4.  If  the  stranger  refuses  to  smoke  in  it,  'tis 
a  sign  of  war. 

"5.  If  it  be  peace,  the  chief  of  the  strangers 
takes  a  whiff  or  two  in  the  pipe,  and  presents  it 
to  the  next  great  man  of  the  town,  they  come  to 
visit:  he,  after  taking  two  or  three  whiffs,  gives 
it  back  to  the  next  of  the  strangers,  and  so  on 
alternately,  until  they  have  past  all  the  persons 
of  note  on  each  side,  and  then  the  ceremony  is 
ended. 

"After  a  little  discourse,  they  march  together 
in  a  friendly  manner  into  the  town,  and  then 
proceed  to  explain  the  business  upon  which  they 
came.  This  method  is  as  general  a  rule  among 
all  the  Indians  of  those  parts  of  America,  as  the 
flag  of  truce  is  among  the  Europeans.  And  tho* 
the  fashion  of  the  pipe  differ,  as  well  as  the  orna- 
ments of  it,  according  to  the  humor  of  the  sev- 
eral nations,  yet  'tis  a  general  rule,  to  make  these 
pipes  remarkably  bigger,  than  those  for  common 
use,  and  to  adorn  them  with  beautiful  wings,  and 
feathers  of  birds,  as  likewise  with  peak,  beads, 
or  other  such  foppery.  Father  Lewis  Henepin 
gives  a  particular  description  of  one,  that  he 
took  notice  of,  among  the  Indians,  upon  the 
lakes  wherein  he  travelled.  He  describes  it  by 
the  name  of  Calumet  of  Peace,  and  his  words  are 
these.  Book  i,  chap.  24: 

"'This  calumet  is  the  most  mysterious  thing 
in  the  world,  among  the  savages  of  the  continent 
of  Northern  America;  for  it  is  used  in  all  their 
important  transactions:  however,  it  is  nothing 


The  Indian  Character  51 

else  but  a  large  tobacco  pipe,  made  of  red,  black 
or  white  marble:  the  head  is  finel}/-  polished,  and 
the  quill,  which  is  commonly  two  feet  and  a-half 
long,  is  made  of  a  pretty  strong  reed,  or  cane, 
adorned  with  feathers  of  all  colors,  interlaced 
with  locks  of  women's  hair.  They  tie  to  it  two 
wings  of  the  most  curious  birds  they  can  find, 
w^hich  makes  their  calumet  not  much  unlike 
Mercury's  wand,  or  that  staff  ambassadors  did 
formerly  carry,  when  they  went  to  treat  of  peace. 
They  sheath  that  reed  into  the  neck  of  birds  they 
call  huars,  which  are  as  big  as  geese,  and  spotted 
with  black  and  white:  or  else  of  a  sort  of  ducks, 
which  make  their  nests  upon  trees,  tho'  the  water 
be  their  ordinary  element:  and  whose  feathers  be 
of  many  different  colors.  However,  every  na- 
tion adorns  their  calumet  as  they  think  fit, 
according  to  their  own  genius,  and  the  birds 
they  have  in  their  country. 

"*Such  a  pipe  is  a  pass  and  safe-conduct  among 
all  the  allies  of  the  nation  who  has  given  it.  And 
in  all  embassies,  the  ambassador  carries  that 
calumet,  as  the  symbol  of  peace,  which  is  always 
respected.  For  the  savages  are  generally  per- 
suaded, that  a  great  misfortune  would  befall 
them,  if  they  violated  the  public  faith  of  the 
calumet. 

"'All  their  enterprises,  declarations  of  war, 
or  conclusions  of  peace,  as  well  as  all  the  rest  of 
their  ceremonies,  are  sealed  (if  I  may  be  per- 
mitted to  say  so),  with  this  calumet.  They  fill 
that  pipe  with  the  best  tobacco  they  have,  and 


52  The  Forest  Primeval 

then  present  it  to  those,  with  whom  they  have 
concluded  any  great  affair;  and  smoke  out  of  the 
same  after  them. ' 

"In  Table  6/  is  seen  the  calumet  of  peace, 
drawn  by  Lahontan,  and  one  of  the  sort  which  I 
have  seen. 

"They  have  a  remarkable  way  of  entertaining 
all  strangers  of  condition,  which  is  performed 
after  the  following  manner.  First,  the  king  or 
queen  with  a  guard,  and  a  great  retinue  march 
out  of  the  town,  a  quarter  or  half  a  mile,  and 
carry  mats  for  their  accommodation:  when  they 
meet  the  strangers,  they  invite  them  to  sit  down 
upon  those  mats.  Then  they  pass  the  ceremony 
of  the  pipe,  and  afterwards,  having  spent  about 
half  an  hour  in  grave  discourse,  they  get  up 
all  together  and  march  into  the  town.  Here 
the  first  compliment,  is  to  wash  the  courteous 
traveller's  feet;  then  he  is  treated  at  a  sumptuous 
entertainment  served  up  by  a  great  number  of 
attendants.  After  which  he  is  diverted  with 
antique  Indian  dances,  performed  both  by  men 
and  women,  and  accompanied  with  great  variety 
of  wild  music.  "^ 

'  See  picture,  page  60. 

'  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  18-22. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE    FASHION    AND    DOMESTIC    CONSTRUCTION    OF 
INDIAN  SOCIETY 

SMITH  gives  us  an  account  of  the  fashions 
prevailing  among  the  native  Inhabitants 
of  Virginia,  in  the  year  1607,  which 
presents  somewhat  of  a  contrast  to  those  of  the 
present  day.  He  says:  *'For  their  apparel,  they 
are  sometimes  covered  with  the  skins  of  wild 
beasts,  which  in  winter  are  dressed  with  the  hair, 
but  in  summer  without.  The  better  sort  use 
large  mantles  of  deer-skins,  not  much  differing 
in  fashion  from  the  Irish  mantles.  Some  em- 
broidered with  white  beads,  some  with  copper, 
others  painted  after  their  manner.  But  the 
common  sort  have  scarce  to  cover  their  naked- 
ness, but  with  grass,  the  leaves  of  trees,  or  such 
like.  We  have  seen  some  use  mantles  made  of 
turkey-feathers,  so  prettily  wrought  and  woven 
with  threads  that  nothing  could  be  discerned 
but  the  feathers.  That  was  exceedingly  warm 
and  very  handsome.  They  adorn  themselves 
most  with  copper  beads  and  paintings.  Their 
women,  some  have  their  legs,  hands,  breasts,  and 
53 


54  The  Forest  Primeval 

face  cunningly  embroidered'  with  divers  works, 
as  beasts,  serpents,  artificially  wrought  into  their 
flesh  with  black  spots.  In  each  ear  commonly 
they  have  three  great  holes,  whereat  they  hang 
chains,  bracelets,  or  copper.  Some  of  their 
men  wear  in  those  holes,  a  small  green  and  yel- 
low colored  snake,  near  half  a  yard  in  length, 
which  crawling  and  lapping  herself  about  his 
neck,  oftentimes  familiarly  would  kiss  his  lips. 
Others  wear  a  dead  rat  tied  by  the  tail.  Some 
on  their  heads  wear  the  wing  of  a  bird,  or  some 
large  feather  with  a  rattle.  Many  have  the 
whole  skin  of  a  hawk  or  some  strange  fowl, 
stuffed  with  the  wings  abroad.  Others  a  broad 
piece  of  copper,  and  some  the  hand  of  their 
enemy  dried.  Their  heads  and  shoulders  are 
painted  red  with  the  root  po-cone,  brayed^  to 
powder  mixed  with  oil,  this  they  hold^  in  sum- 
mer to  preserve  them  from  the  heat,  and  in 
winter  from  the  cold.  Many  other  forms  of 
paintings  they  use,  but  he  is  the  most  gallant, 
that  is  the  most  monstrous  to  behold.  "'^ 

Spelman  assigns  a  reason  for  the  style  of  wear- 
ing their  hair: 

"The  common  people  have  no  beards  at  all  for 
they  pull  away  their  hair  as  fast  as  it  grows. 
And  they  also  cut  the  hair  on  the  right  side  of 
their  head  that  it  might  not  hinder  them  by 
flapping  about  their  bow-string,  when  they  draw 
it  to  shoot.     But  on  the  other  side  they  let  it 

'  Tattooed.  »  Beaten.  »  Believe. 

4  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  129-30. 


Construction  of  Indian  Society        55 

grow  and  have  a  long  lock  hanging  down  their 
shoulder."' 

These  long  locks  were  what  we  have  heard  of' 
as  the  scalp-locks,  which  were  cut  around  and 
torn  dripping  with  blood  from  their  heads  by 
their  victorious  enemies,  who  kept  and  prized 
them  as  trophies  of  their  valor. 

"The  chief  men  of  the  island  and  town  of 
Roanoac  ^  wear  the  hair  of  the  crown  of  their 
heads  cut  like  a  coxcomb,  as  the  others  do.  The 
rest  they  wear  long  as  women  and  truss  them  up 
in  a  knot  in  the  nape  of  their  necks.  They  hang 
pearls  strung  upon  a  thread  at  their  ears,  and 
wear  bracelets  on  their  arms  of  pearls,  or  small 
beads  of  copper  or  of  smooth  bone  called  minsal, 
neither  painting  nor  pouncing^  themselves;  but 
in  token  of  authority  and  honor,  they  wear  a 
chain  of  great  pearls,  or  copper  beads,  or  smooth 
bones  about  their  necks  and  a  plate  of  copper 
hanging  upon  a  string.  From  the  navel  unto 
the  middle  of  their  thighes  they  cover  themselves 
before  and  behind  as  the  women  do,  with  a  deer 
skin  handsomely  dressed  and  fringed.  More- 
over they  fold  their  arms  together  as  they  walk,  or 
as  they  talk  one  with  another  in  sign  of  wisdom. 
The  Isle  of  Roanoac  is  very  pleasant,  and  hath 
plenty  of  fish  by  reason  of  the  water  that  environ- 
eth  the  same.""^ 

"In  their  opinion,  they  are  finest  when  dressed 

'  Spelman's  Relation  of  Virginia,  p.  52. 

^  The  island  near  the  seacoast  of  North  Carolina,  between  Albe- 
marle and  Pamlico  Sounds. 

3  Tattooing.  ■»  Hariot's  Narrative,  vii. 


56  The  Forest  Primeval 

most  ridiculously  or  terribly.  Thus  some  have 
their  skins  ail  over  curiously  wrought  with  bluish 
lines  and  figures,  as  if  done  with  gun-powder  and 
needles,  and  all  of  them  delight  in  being  painted; 
so  that  when  they  are  very  fine,  you  may  see 
some  of  them  with  their  hair  cut  off  on  one  side, 
and  a  long  lock  on  the  other.  The  crown  being 
crested  and  bedaubed  with  red  lead  and  oil; 
their  forehead  being  painted  white,  and  it  may  be 
their  nose  black,  and  a  circle  of  blue  round  one 
eye,  with  the  cheek  red,  and  all  the  other  side  of 
the  face  yellow,  or  in  some  such  fantastical 
manner.  These  colors  they  buy  of  us,  being 
persuaded  to  despise  their  own,  which  are  com- 
mon and  finer."' 

"The  people  of  condition  of  both  sexes,  wear 
a  sort  of  coronet  on  their  heads,  from  4  to  6  Inches 
broad,  open  at  the  top,  and  composed  of  peak, 
or  beads,  or  else  of  both  interwoven  together, 
and  worked  into  figures,  made  by  a  nice  mixture 
of  the  colors.  Sometimes  they  wear  a  wreath  of 
dyed  furs ;  as  likewise  bracelets  on  their  necks  and 
arms.  The  common  people  go  bare-headed,  only 
sticking  large  shining  feathers  about  their  heads, 
as  their  fancies  lead  them. 

"Their  shoes,  when  they  wear  any,  are  made  of 
an  entire  piece  of  buck-skin;  except  when  they 
sew  a  piece  to  the  bottom  to  thicken  the  sole. 
They  are  fastened  on  with  running  strings,  the 
skin  being  drawn  together  like  a  purse  on  the 
top   of  the  foot,   and    tied   around   the   ankle. 

*  Jones's  Present  State  of  Virginia,  p.  1 1. 


Construction  of  Indian  Society        57 

The  Indian  name  of  this  kind  of  shoe  is 
moccasin."' 

"The  aged  men  of  Pom-e-i-ock  are  covered 
with  a  large  skin  which  Is  tied  upon  their  shoul- 
ders on  one  side  and  hangeth  down  beneath  their 
knees  wearing  their  other  arm  naked  out  of  the 
skin,  that  they  may  be  at  more  liberty.  Those 
skins  are  dressed  with  the  hair  on,  and  lined 
with  other  furred  skins.  The  young  men  suffer 
no  hair  at  all  to  grow  upon  their  faces  but  as 
soon  as  they  grow  they  put  them  away,  but 
when  they  are  come  to  years  they  suffer  them 
to  grow,  although,  to  say  truth,  they  come  up 
very  thin.  They  also  wear  their  hair  bound  up 
behind,  and  have  a  crest  on  their  heads  like  the 
others."^ 

"Seldom  any  but  the  elder  people  wore  the 
winter  cloaks  (which  they  call  match-coats),  till 
they  got  a  supp'y  of  European  goods,  and  now 
most  have  them  of  one  sort  or  other  in  the  cold 
winter  weather.  Figure  i  wears  the  proper 
Indian  match-coat,  which  is  made  of  skins, 
dressed  with  the  fur  on,  sewed  together,  and  worn 
with  the  fur  Inwards,  having  the  edges  also 
gashed  for  beauty's  sake.  On  his  feet  are  moc- 
casins. By  him  stand  some  Indian  cabins  on  the 
banks  of  the  river.  Figure  2  wears  the  Dufheld 
match-coat,  bought  of  the  English,  on  his  head 
is  a  coronet  of  peak,  on  his  legs  are  stockings 
made  of  Duffields.     That  is,  they  take  a  length 

»  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  2-3. 
*  Hariot's  Narrative,  ix. 


58  The  Forest  Primeval 

to  reach  from  the  ankle  to  the  knee,  so  broad  as 
to  wrap  round  the  leg;  this  they  sew  together, 
letting  the  edges  stand  out  an  inch  beyond  the 
seam.  When  this  is  on,  they  garter  below  the 
knee,  and  fasten  the  lower  end  in  the  moccasin. " ' 

We  presume  that  the  word  "match-coat"  is 
derived  from  the  Indian  word  match-cores,  \^  hich 
meant  skins  or  garments.'' 

The  next  picture,  which  is  the  original  of 
Figure  i,  already  given,  is  particularly  interest- 
ing in  presenting,  in  the  background,  the  appear- 
ance, at  a  distance,  of  one  of  the  Indian  towns, 
showing  the  enclosing  palisade,  and  the  regular- 
ity of  the  corn  fields  surrounding  it.  In  the  first 
of  the  upper  fields,  on  the  right,  is  the  little  cabin, 
in  which  the  man  sat,  to  protect  the  corn  from 
the  birds  and  beasts  which  would  otherwise 
devour  it. 

"The  women  of  Se-co-tam  are  of  reasonably 
good  proportion.  In  their  going  they  carry  their 
hands  dangling  down,  and  are  dadiP  in  a  deer 
skin  very  excellently  well  dressed,  hanging  down 
from  their  navel  unto  the  midst  of  their  thighs, 
which  also  covereth  their  hinder  parts.  The 
rest  of  their  bodies  are  all  bare.  The  fore  part  of 
their  hair  is  cut  short,  the  rest  is  not  over  long, 
thin  and  soft,  and  falling  down  about  their  shoul- 
ders: They  wear  a  wreath  about  their  heads. 
Their  foreheads,  cheeks,  chin,  arms  and  legs  are 

'  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  4-5. 
'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  147. 
3  Clothed  with  an  apron. 


Construction  of  Indian  Society        59 

pounced.'  About  their  necks  they  wear  a  chain, 
either  pricked  or  painted. 

"They  have  small  eyes,  plain  and  flat  noses, 
narrow  foreheads,  and  broad  mouths.  For  the 
most  part  they  hang  at  their  ears  chains  of  long 
pearls,  and  of  some  smooth  bones.  Yet  their 
nails  are  not  long,  as  the  women  of  Florida. 
They  are  also  delighted  with  walking  into  the 
fields,  and  beside  the  rivers,  to  see  the  hunting 
of  deer  and  catching  of  fish.  "^ 

Strachey  tells  us  more  particularly  about  this 
pouncing.     He  says: 

"The  women  have  their  arms,  breasts,  thighs, 
shoulders,  and  faces,  cunningly  embroidered  with 
divers  works,  for  pouncing  or  searing  their  skins 
with  a  kind  of  instrument  heated  in  the  fire. 
They  figure  therein  flowers  and  fruits  of  sundry 
lively  kinds,  as  also  snakes,  serpents,  eftes,^  &c., 
and  this  they  do  by  dropping  upon  the  seared 
flesh  sundry  colors,  which,  rubbed  into  the 
stamp,  will  never  be  taken  away  again,  because 
it  will  not  only  be  dried  into  the  flesh,  but  grow 
therein.  "4 

"The  method  the  women  have  of  carrying  their 
children  after  they  are  sufi^ered  to  crawl  about,  is 
very  particular;  they  carry  them  at  their  backs 
in  summer,  taking  one  leg  of  the  child  In  their 
hand  over  their  shoulder;  the  other  leg  hanging 
down,  and  the  child  ah  the  while  holding  fast 

'  Tattooed.  ^  Hariot's  Narrative,  iv. 

3  Small  lizards. 

4  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  66. 


6o  The  Forest  Primeval 

with  its  other  hand;  but  in  winter  they  carry 
them  in  the  hollow  of  their  match-coat  at  their 
back,  leaving  nothing  but  the  child's  head  out,  as 
appears  by  the  figure."' 

"Men,  women,  and  children  have  their  several 
names  according  to  the  several  humor  of  their 
parents.  Their  women  (they  say)  are  easily 
delivered  of  child,  yet  do  they  love  children  very 
dearly.  To  make  them  hardy,  in  the  coldest 
mornings  they  wash  them  in  the  rivers,  and  by 
painting  and  ointments  so  tan  their  skins,  that 
after  a  year  or  two,  no  weather  will  hurt 
them."^ 

"The  manner  of  the  Indians  treating  their 
young  children  is  very  strange,  for  instead  of 
keeping  them  warm,  at  their  first  entry  into  the 
world,  and  wrapping  them  up,  with  I  don't  know 
how  man)^  clothes,  according  to  our  fond  custom; 
the  first  thing  they  do,  is  to  dip  the  child  over 
head  and  ears  In  cold  water,^  and  then  to  bind 
it  naked  to  a  convenient  board ;  but  they  always 
put  cotton,  wool,  fur,  or  other  soft  thing,  for  the 
body  to  rest  easy  on,  between  the  child  and  the 
board.  In  this  posture  they  keep  it  several 
months,  till  the  bones  begin  to  harden,  the 
joints  to  knit,  and  the  limbs  to  grow  strong; 
and  they  then  let  It  loose  from  the  board,  suffer- 
ing it  to  crawl  about  except  when  they  are  feeding 
or  playing  with  it. 

'  Beverley,  book  3,  p.  10. 
'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  131. 

3  Aristotle  states  that  this  custom  was  In  favor  with  many  bar- 
barians.    Politics,  book  vii 


Construction  of  Indian  Society        6i 

"While  the  child  is  thus  at  the  board,  they 
either  lay  it  flat  on  its  back,  or  set  it  lean- 
ing on  one  end,  or  else  hang  it  up  by  a  string 
fastened  to  the  upper  end  of  the  board  for 
that  purpose.  The  child  and  board  being  all 
this  while  carried  about  together.  As  our 
women  undress  their  children  to  clean  them  and 
shift  their  linen,  so  they  do  theirs  to  wash  and 
grease  them."' 

Spelman  adds  the  following: 

"After  the  mother  is  delivered  of  her  child 
within  some  few  days  after  the  kinsfolk  and 
neighbors  being  entreated  thereunto,  come  unto 
the  house:  where  being  assembled  the  father 
takes  the  child  in  his  arms:  and  declares  that  his 
name  shall  be,  as  he  then  calls  him,  so  his  name  is; 
which  done  the  rest  of  the  day  is  spent  in  feasting 
and  dancing."'' 

"About  20  miles  from  that  Island,^  near  the 
lake  of  Pa-quip-pe,"^  there  is  another  town  called 
Pom-e-i-ock,  hard  by  the  sea.^  The  apparel  of 
the  chief  ladies  of  that  town  difl'ereth  but  little 
from  the  attire  of  those  which  live  in  Roanoac.^ 
For  they  wear  their  hair  trussed  up  in  a  knot,  as 
the  maidens  do  which  we  spoke  of  before,  and 
have  their  skins  pounced*^  in  the  same  manner, 
yet  they  wear  a  chain  of  great  pearls,  or  beads  of 
copper,  or  smooth  bones,  five  or  six  fold  about 


'  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  9-10. 
^  Spelman 's  Relation  of  Virgmia,  p.  38. 
3  Roanoke.  4  Mattamuskeet, 

s  Pamlico  Sound.  '  Tattooed. 


62  The  Forest  Primeval 

their  necks,  bearing  one  arm  in  the  same,  in  the 
other  hand  they  carry  a  gourd  full  of  some  kind 
of  pleasant  liquor.  They  tie  deer's  skin  doubled 
about  them  crossing  higher  about  their  breasts, 
which  hangs  down  before  almost  to  their  knees, 
and  are  almost  altogether  naked  behind.  Com- 
monly their  young  daughters  of  seven  or  eight 
years  of  age  do  wait  upon  them,  wearing  about 
them  a  girdle  of  skin."' 

"The  boy  wears  a  necklace  of  runtees,^  in  his 
right  hand  is  an  Indian  rattle,  and  in  his  left,  a 
roasting-ear  of  corn.  Round  his  waist  is  a  small 
string,  and  another  brought  cross  through  his 
crotch,  and  for  decency  a  soft  skin  is  fastened 
before."^ 

"Their  elder  women  are  cooks,  barbers,  and 
for  service;  the  younger  for  dalliance.  The 
women  hang  their  children  at  their  backs  in 
summer  naked,  in  winter  under  a  deer  skin. 
They  are  of  modest  behaviour.  They  seldom 
or  never  brawl.  In  entertaining  a  stranger,  they 
spread  a  mat  for  him  to  sit  down,  and  dance 
before  him.  They  wear  their  nails  long  to  flay"^ 
their  deer:  they  put  bow  and  arrows  into 
their  children's  hands  before  they  are  six  years 
old."5 

"Virgins  of  good  parentage  are  appareled  alto- 
gether like  the  women  of  Secota  above  mentioned, 
saving  that  they  wear  hanging  about  their  necks 

'  Hariot's  Narrative,  viii.         '  Disks  of  shells  used  as  ornaments. 
3  Beverley,  book  3,  p.  7.  '•  Strip  off  the  skin  of. 

*  Purchas,  vol.  v.,  p.  844. 


Construction  of  Indian  Society        63 

instead  of  a  chain  certain  thick  and  round  pearls, 
with  Httle  beads  of  copper,  or  polished  bones  be- 
tween them.  Their  hair  is  cut  with  two  ridges 
above  their  foreheads,  the  rest  is  trussed  up  on  a 
knot  behind,  they  have  broad  mouths,  reasonable 
fair  black  eyes:  they  lay  their  hands  often  upon 
their  shoulders,  and  cover  their  breasts  in  token  of 
maidenlike  modesty.  The  rest  of  their  bodies 
are    naked,    as    in    the    picture    is    to  be  seen. 

They  delight  also  in   seeing  fish  taken  in  the 

"i 
rivers. 

"There  is  notice  to  be  taken  to  know  married 
women  from  maids,  the  maids  you  shall  always 
see  the  fore  part  of  their  head  and  sides  shaven 
close,  the  hinder  part  very  long,  which  they  tie 
in  a  plait  hanging  down  to  their  hips.  The 
married  women  wear  their  hair  all  of  a  length, 
and  it  is  tied  of  that  fashion  that  the  maids  are. 
The  women  kind  in  this  country  doth  pounce 
and  rase^  their  bodies,  thighs,  arms  and  faces 
with  a  sharp  iron,  which  makes  a  stamp  in  cu- 
rious knots,  and  draws  the  proportion  of  fowls, 
fish,  or  beasts,  then  with  paintings  of  sundry 
lively  colors,  they  rub  it  into  the  stamp  which 
will  never  be  taken  away,  because  it  is  dried  into 
the  flesh  where  it  is  sered.  "^ 

"The  Indian  damsels  are  full  of  spirit,  and 
from  thence  are  always  inspired  with  mirth  and 
good  humor.  They  are  extremely  given  to  laugh, 
which  they  do  with  a  grace  not  to  be  resisted. 

'  Hariot's  Narrative,  vi.  *  Tattoo  and  mark. 

3  Secured.     Purchas,  vol.  iv.,  p.  1689. 


64  The  Forest  Primeval 

The  excess  of  Hfe  and  fire,  which  they  never  fail 
to  have,  makes  them  froHcsome,  but  without  any 
real  imputation  to  their  innocence.  However, 
this  is  ground  enough  for  the  Enghsh,  who  are  not 
very  nice  in  distinguishing  betwixt  guilt,  and 
harmless  freedom,  to  think  them  incontinent. 

*'The  dress  of  the  women  is  httle  different  from 
that  of  the  men,  except  in  the  tying  of  their  hair. 
The  ladies  of  distinction  wear  deep  necklaces, 
pendants  and  bracelets,  made  of  small  cylinders 
of  the  conque  shell,  which  they  call  peak.  They 
likewise  keep  their  skin  clean,  and  shining  with 
oil,  while  the  men  are  commonly  bedaubed  all 
over  with  paint. 

"They  are  remarkable  for  having  small  round 
breasts  and  so  firm,  that  they  are  hardly  ever 
observed  to  hang  down,  even  in  old  women. 
They  commonly  go  naked  as  far  as  the  navel 
downward,  and  upward  to  the  middle  of  the 
thigh,  by  which  means  they  have  the  advantage 
of  discovering  their  fine  limbs,  and  complete 
shape."' 

A  sample  of  the  way  these  girls  sometimes  did 
is  given  us  in  the  following,  which  describes  a 
dance  gotten  up  by  Pocahontas,  to  entertain 
Captain  Smith,  while  waiting  for  her  father  to 
make  his  appearance: 

"In  a  fair  plain  field  they  made  a  fire,  before 
which  he  sat  down  upon  a  mat,  when  suddenly 
amongst  the  woods  was  heard  such  a  hideous 
noise  and   shrieking,    that   the   English  betook 

»  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  9,  6,  7. 


Construction  of  Indian  Society        65 

themselves  to  their  arms,  and  seized  on  two  or 
three  old  men  by  them,  supposing  Powhatan, 
with  all  his  power,  was  coming  to  surprise  them. 
But  presently  Pocahontas  came,  willing  him  to 
kill  her,  if  any  hurt  were  intended ;  and  the  be- 
holders, which  were  men,  women  and  children, 
satisfied  the  Captain  that  there  was  no  such 
matter.  Then  presently  they  were  presented 
with  this  antic;  thirty  young  women  came  naked 
out  of  the  woods,  only  covered  behind  and  before 
with  a  few  green  leaves,  their  bodies  all  painted, 
some  of  one  color,  some  of  another,  but  all  differ- 
ing; their  leader  had  a  fair  pair  of  buck's  horns 
on  her  head,  and  an  otter's  skin  at  her  girdle,  and 
another  at  her  arm,  a  quiver  of  arrows  at  her 
back,  a  bow  and  arrows  in  her  hand:  the  next 
had  in  her  hand  a  sword,  another  a  club,  another 
a  potstick;  all  of  them  being  horned  alike:  the 
rest  were  all  set  out  with  their  several  devices. 
These  fiends,  with  most  hellish  shouts  and  cries, 
rushing  from  among  the  trees,  cast  themselves 
in  a  ring  about  the  fire,  singing  and  dancing  with 
most  excellent  ill  variety,  oft  falling  into  their 
infernal  passions,  and  then  solemnly  betaking 
themselves  aga  n  to  sing  and  dance;  having 
spent  near  an  hour  in  this  mascarado,'  as  they 
entered,  in  like  manner  they  departed."^ 

*' Their  women  know  how  to  make  earthen 
vessels  with  special  cunning,  and  that  so  large 
and  fine  that  our  potters  with  their  v.heels  can 
make  no  better:  and  then  remove  them  from 

'  Masquerade.  *  Beverley,  book  3,  p.  55. 


66  The  Forest  Primeval 

place  to  place  as  easily  as  we  can  do  our  brassen 
kettles.  After  they  have  set  them  upon  an 
heap  of  earth  to  stay  them  from  falling,  they  put 
wood  under,  which  being  kindled  one  of  them 
taketh  great  care  that  the  fire  burn  equally 
round  about.  They  or  their  women  fill  the  vessel 
with  water,  and  then  put  they  in  fruit,  flesh, 
and  fish,  and  let  all  boil  together  like  a  gallie- 
maufrye,'  which  the  Spaniards  call,  olla  pod  rid  a. 
Then  they  put  it  out  into  dishes,  and  set  before 
the  company,  and  then  they  make  good  cheer 
together.  Yet  are  they  moderate  in  their  eat- 
ing, whereby  they  avoid  sickness."^ 

"The  women  have  a  great  care  to  maintain  and 
keep  firelight  still  within  their  houses,  and  if  at 
any  time  it  go  out,  they  take  it  for  an  evil  sign, 
but  if  it  be  out  they  kindle  it  again  presently,  by 
chaffing  a  dry  pointed  stick  in  a  hole  of  a  little 
square  piece  of  wood;  that  firing  Itself  will  so 
fire  moss,  leaves,  or  any  such  like  thing  that  is 
apt  quickly  to  burn."^ 

''After  they  have  taken  store  of  fish,  they  get 
them  unto  a  place  fit  to  dress  it.  There  they 
stick  up  in  the  ground  four  stakes  In  a  square 
room,^  and  lay  four  potes^  upon  them,  and  others 
over  thwart  the  same  like  unto  an  hurdle,^  they 
make  a  fire  underneath  to  broil  the  same,  not 
after  the  manner  of  the  people  in  Florida,  which 
do  but  schorte,^  and  harden  their  meat  in  the 

'  Hash.  ^  Harlot's  Narrative,  xv. 

3  Strachey,  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  112. 

4  In  the  form  of  a  square.         s  Sticks.  ^  Gridiron.  ">  Cut. 


Construction  of  Indian  Society        67 

smoke  only  to  reserve  the  same  during  all  the 
winter.  I'or  this  people  reserving  nothing  for 
store,  they  do  broil,  and  spend  away  all  at  once, 
and  when  they  have  further  need,  they  roast  or 
seethe'  fresh,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter.  And 
when  as  the  hurdle  cannot  hold  all  the  fish,  they 
hang  the  rest  by  the  fires  on  sticks  set  up  in  the 
ground  against  the  fire,  and  then  they  finish  the 
rest  of  their  cookery.  They  take  good  heed 
that  they  be  not  burnt.  When  the  first  are 
broiled  they  lay  others  on,  that  were  newly 
brought,  continuing  the  dressing  of  their  meat 
in  this  sort,  until  they  think  they  have  suffi- 
cient.'" 

"Their  cookery  has  nothing  commendable  in 
it,  but  that  it  is  performed  with  little  trouble. 
They  have  no  other  sauce  but  a  good  stomach, 
which  they  seldom  want.  They  boil,  broil  or 
rost  all  the  meat  they  eat,  and  it  is  very  common 
with  them  to  boil  fish  as  well  as  flesh  with  their 
homony;  this  is  Indian  corn  soaked,  broken  in 
a  mortar,  husked,  and  then  boiled  in  water 
over  a  gentle  fire,  for  ten  or  twelve  hours,  to  the 
consistence  of  furmity.^  The  thin  of  this  is,  what 
my  Lord  Bacon  calls  cream  of  maize,  and  highly 
commends  for  an  excellent  sort  of  nutriment. 

"They  have  two  ways  of  broiling,  viz. :  one  by 
laying  the  meat  itself  upon  the  coals,  the  other 
by  laying  it  upon  sticks  raised  upon  forks  at 
some  distance  above  the  live  coals,  which  heats 

'  Boil.  » Harlot's  Narrative,  xiv. 

3  Hulled  wheat  boiled  in  milk  and  seasoned. 


68  The  Forest  Primeval 

more  gently,  and  drys  up  the  gravy;  this  they, 
and  we  also  from  them,  call  barbecuing. 

"They  skin  and  paunch'  all  sorts  of  quad- 
rupeds; they  draw  and  pluck  their  fowl;  but 
their  fish  they  dress  with  their  scales  on,  without 
gutting;  but  in  eating  they  leave  the  scales, 
entrails  and  bones  to  be  thrown  away. 

"They  never  serve  up  different  sorts  of  victuals 
in  one  dish;  as  roast  and  boiled  fish  and  flesh, 
but  always  serve  them  up  in  several  vessels. 

"They  bake  their  bread  either  in  cakes  before 
the  fire,  or  in  loaves  on  a  warm  hearth,  covering 
the  loaf  first  with  leaves,  then  with  warm  ashes, 
and  afterwards  with  coals  over  all.  Their  food 
is  fish  and  flesh  of  all  sorts,  and  that  which 
participates  of  both,  as  the  beaver,  a  small  kind 
of  turtle  or  terrapin,  (as  we  call  them)  and  several 
species  of  snakes.  They  likewise  eat  grubs,  the 
nymphe  ^  of  wasps,  some  kinds  of  scarabaei,^ 
cicadae,^  etc. 

"They  eat  all  sorts  of  peas,  beans,  and  other 
pulse,^  both  parched  and  boiled.  They  make 
their  bread  of  the  Indian  corn,  wild  oats,  or  the 
seed  of  the  sunflower.  But  when  they  eat  their 
bread,  they  eat  it  alone,  not  with  their  meat. 
They  have  no  salt  among  them,  but  for  seasoning 
use  the  ashes  of  hickory,  stickweed,®  or  some  other 
wood  or  plant  affording  a  salt  ash. 

"They  delight  much  to  feed  on  roasting-ears; 

'  Eviscerate.  *  Chrysalis.  ^  Beetles.  4  Locusts, 

s  Plants  cultivated  as  field  or  garden  crops  which  can  be  gathered 
by  hand  without  cutting. 
*  Stickseed. 


Construction  of  Indian  Society        69 

that  is,  the  Indian  corn,  gathered  green  and 
milky,  before  it  is  grown  to  its  full  bigness,  and 
roasted  before  the  fire,  in  the  ear.  For  the  sake 
of  this  diet,  which  they  love  exceedingly,  they 
are  very  careful  to  procure  all  the  several  sorts 
of  Indian  corn  before  mentioned,  by  which 
means  they  contrive  to  prolong  their  season. 
And  indeed  this  is  a  very  sweet  and  pleasing 
food. 

"They  have  growing  near  their  towns,  peaches, 
strawberries,  cushaws, '  melons,  pompions,  ^ 
matcocksj^  &c.  The  cushaws  and  pompions 
they  lay  by,  which  vsill  keep  several  months  good 
after  they  are  gathered;  the  peaches  they  save, 
by  drying  them  in  the  sun;  they  have  likewise 
several  sorts  of  the  phaseoli.'' 

"In  the  woods  they  gather  chlncapins,  chest- 
nuts, hiccories,  and  walnuts.  The  kernels  of  the 
hiccories  they  beat  in  a  mortar  with  water,  and 
make  a  white  liquor  like  milk,  from  whence  they 
call  our  milk  hickory.  Hazlenuts  they  will  not 
meddle  with,  though  they  make  a  shift  with 
acorns  sometimes,  and  eat  all  the  other  fruits 
mentioned  before,  but  they  never  eat  any  sort  of 
herbs  or  leaves. 

"Out  of  the  ground  they  dig  trubbs,^  earth- 
nuts,  wild  onions  and  a  tuberous  root  they  call 

^  A  kind  of  pumpkin;  a  variety  of  crooknecked  squash. 
^     ^  Pumpkins. 

3  Tlie  same  as  maracock,  the  Indian  name  for  the  fruit  of  the 
passion  flower,  which  they  ate. 

^  Phaseoleffi,  a  tribe  of  leguminous  plants. 

s  Truffles,  earth  nuts. 


70  The  Forest  Primeval 

tuck-a-hoe, '  which  while  crude  is  of  a  very  hot 
and  virulent  quality:  but  they  can  manage  it  so 
as  in  case  of  necessity,  to  make  bread  of  it,  just 
as  the  East  Indians  and  those  of  Egypt  are  said 
to  do  of  colocasha.  It  grows  like  a  flag  in  the 
miry  marshes,  having  roots  of  the  magnitude 
and  taste  of  Irish  potatoes,  which  are  easy  to  be 
dug  up. 

''They  accustom  themselves  to  no  set  meals, 
but  eat  night  and  day,  when  they  have  plenty 
of  provisions,  or  if  they  have  got  anything  that 
is  a  rarity.  They  are  very  patient  of  hunger, 
when  by  any  accident  they  happen  to  have  noth- 
ing to  eat;  which  they  make  more  easy  to  them 
by  girding  up  their  bellies,  just  as  the  wild  Arabs 
are  said  to  do,  in  their  long  marches,  by  which 
means  they  are  less  sensible  of  the  impressions  of 
hunger. 

"Among  all  this  variety  of  food,  nature  hath 
not  taught  them  the  use  of  any  other  drink  than 
water:  which  though  they  have  in  cool  and 
pleasant  springs  every  where,  yet  they  will  not 
drink  that,  if  they  can  get  pond  water,  or  such 
as  has  been  warmed  by  the  sun  and  weather. 
Baron  Lahontan  tells  of  a  sweet  juice  of  maple, 
which  the  Indians  to  the  northward  gave  him, 
mingled  with  water,  but  our  Indians  use  no  such 
drink.  For  their  strong  drink,  they  are  alto- 
gether beholding  to  us,  and  are  so  greedy  of  it, 
that  most  of  them  will  be  drunk  as  often  as  they 

'  Both  the  Virginia  wake-robin  and  the  golden-club,  both  aquatics 
with  deep  fleshy  and  starchy  rootstocks. 


Construction  of  Indian  Society        71 

find  an  opportunity;  notwithstanding  which,  it 
is  a  prevaihng  humor  among  them,  not  to  taste 
any  strong  drink '  at  all,  unless  they  can  get 
enough  to  make  them  quite  drunk  and  then 
they  go  as  solemnly  about  it,  as  if  it  were  part 
of  their  religion. "  ^ 

In  discussing  the  food  supplies  of  this  people, 
Strachey  says: 

"They  neither  impale  for  deer,  nor  breed  cattle 
nor  bring  up  tame  poultry,  albeit  they  have  great 
store  of  turkies,  nor  keep  birds,  squirrels,  nor 
tame  partridges,  swan,  duck,  nor  goose.  "^ 

"Their  corn  and,  indeed,  their  copper,  hatchets, 
houses,  beads,  pearl,  and  most  things  with  them 
of  value,  according  to  their  own  estimation,  they 
hide,  one  from  the  knowledge  of  another,  in  the 
ground  within  the  woods,  and  so  keep  them  all 
the  year,  or  until  they  have  fit  use  for  them,  as 
the  Romans  did  their  moneys  and  treasure  in 
certain  cellars,  and  when  they  take  them  forth 
they  scarse  make  their  women  privy  to  the  store- 
house. "^ 

"In  March  and  April  they  live  much  upon 
their  fishing-weirs ;  and  feed  on  fish,  turkeys  and 
squirrels.  In  May  and  June  they  plant  their 
fields,  and  live  most  off  acorns,  walnuts,  and 
fish.  But  to  amend ^  their  diet,  some  disperse 
themselves  in  small  companies  and  live  upon  fish, 

'  The  Indians  gave  to  alcoholic  liquor  the  name  of  Fire  Water, 
because  it  would  burn  when  thrown  in  the  fire. 
»  Beverley,  bk  3,  pp.  14-16. 

3  Strachey,  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  pp.  72-3. 
*  Ibid,  p.  1 13.  s  Improve. 


72  The  Forest  Primeval 

beasts,  crabs,  oysters,  land  tortoises,  straw- 
berries, mulberries,  and  such  like.  In  June  and 
July,  and  August,  they  feed  upon  the  roots  of 
Tock-nough  berries,  fish  and  green  wheat.  It  is 
strange  to  see  how  their  bodies  alter  with  their 
diet,  even  as  the  deer  and  wild  beasts  they 
seem  fat  and  lean,  strong  and  weak.  Powhatan, 
their  great  king,  and  some  others  that  are  provi- 
dent, roast  their  fish  and  flesh  upon  hurdles,  as 
before  expressed,  and  keep  it  till  scarce'  times." ^ 

"Oysters  there  be  in  whole  banks  and  beds, 
and  those  of  the  best:  I  have  seen  some  thirteen 
inches  long.  The  savages  use  to  boil  oysters  and 
mussels  together,  and  with  the  broth  they  make 
a  good  spoon-meat,  thickened  with  the  flour  of 
their  wheat;  and  it  is  a  great  thrift  and  husban- 
dry with  them  to  hang  the  oysters  upon  strings 
(being  shelled  and  dried)  in  the  smoke,  thereby 
to  preserve  them  all  the  year.  "-^ 

"The  manner  of  baking  of  bread  is  thus: 
after  they  pound  their  wheat  into  flour  with  hot 
water,  they  make  it  into  paste,  and  work  it  into 
round  balls  and  cakes,  then  they  put  it  into  a  pot 
of  seething  water,  when  it  is  sod'*  thoroughly, 
the}^  lay  it  on  a  smooth  stone,  there  they  harden 
it  as  well  as  in  an  oven."^ 

"Several  kinds  of  the  creeping  vines  bearing 
fruit,  the  Indians  planted  in  their  gardens  or 
fields,  because  they  would  have  plenty  of  them 

'  Times  of  dearth.  ^  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  129. 

3  Strachey,  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  127. 

4  Boiled.  5  Purchas,  vol.  iv.,  p.  1689. 


Construction  of  Indian  Society        73 

always  at  hand;  such  as  muskmelons,  water- 
melons, pompions,  cushaws,  macocks  and 
gourds.'"  They  also  cultivated  Indian  corn, 
peas,  beans,  potatoes,  tobacco,  peaches,  nectar- 
ines, apricots,  plums,  cherries,  and  grapes. 

"Cushaws  are  a  kind  of  pumpkin  of  a  bluish 
green  color,  streaked  with  white,  when  fit  for 
use.  They  are  larger  than  the  pumpkins,  and 
have  a  long  narrow  neck. 

"The  macocks  are  a  lesser  sort  of  pumpkin, 
of  these  there  are  a  great  variety,  but  the  Indian 
name  macock  serves  for  all. "  ^ 

Simlins  would  be  included  under  this  term. 

Maracock  was  the  fruit  of  the  passion  flower. 
It  was  an  article  of  food  which  grew  wild. 

Spelman  gives  us  this  account  of  their  country, 
and  food  supplies: 

"The  country  is  full  of  wood  and  in  some  parts 
water  they  have  plentiful,  they  have  marsh 
ground  and  small  fields,  for  corn,  and  other 
grounds  whereon  their  deer,  goats  and  stags 
feedeth.  There  be  in  this  country  lions,  bears, 
wolves,  foxes,  musk-cats,  hares,  flying-squir- 
rels, and  other  squirrels  being  all  gray  like 
conies,  great  store  of  fowl,  only  peacocks  and 
common  hens  wanting:  fish  in  abundance  where- 
on they  live  most  part  of  the  summer  time.  They 
have  a  kind  of  wheat  called  loc-a-taunce  and  peas 
and  beans.  Great  store  of  walnuts  growing  in 
every  place.     They  have  no  orchard  fruits,  only 

'Beverley,  bk.  2,  pp.  26-8 ;  bk.  4,  p.  78. 
« Ibid.,  pp.  27-8. 


74  The  Forest  Primeval 

two  kinds  of  plums,  the  one  a  sweet  and  luscious 
plum  long  and  thick,  in  form  and  likeness  of  a 
nut-palm,  the  other  resembling  a  medler,'  but 
somewhat  sweeter,  yet  not  eatable  till  they  be 
rotten  as  ours  are."  ^ 

Strachey  says  that  they  were  great  eaters,  and 
that  when  any  of  them  were  in  the  employment 
of  the  English,  it  was  necessary  to  allow  them 
twice  as  much  provisions  as  a  white  man  needed. 

This  is  in  harmony  with  Jones's  statement: 

**They  have  no  notion  of  providing  for  fu- 
turity for  they  eat  night  and  day  whilst  their 
provisions  last,  falling  to  as  soon  as  they  awake, 
and  falling  asleep  again  as  soon  as  they  are  well 
crammed."  ^ 

"Before  their  dinners  and  suppers,  the  better 
sort  will  do  a  kind  of  sacrifice,  taking  the  first 
bit  and  casting  it  into  the  fire,  and  to  it  repeat 
certain  words.  I  have  heard  Ma-chumps,  at 
Sir  Thos.  Dale's  table,  once  or  twice  (upon  our 
request)  repeat  the  said  grace  as  it  were,  how- 
beit  I  forgot  to  take  it  from  him  in  writing. "  ^ 

"Referring  now  to  the  picture  here: 
No.   I.     Is  their  pot  boiling  with  hominy  and 

fish  in  it. 
No.  2.     Is  a  bowl  of  corn,  which  they  gather  up 
with  their  fingers  to  feed  themselves. 


*  Medlar,  a  small  bushy  tree,  having  a  fruit  like  a  little  brown- 
skinned  apple. 

'  Spelman's  Relation  of  Virginia,  pp.  28-9. 

3  Jones's  Present  State  of  Virginia,  p.  10. 

1  Strachey,  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  94;  Smith,  vol.  i., 
p.  140. 


Construction  of  Indian  Society        75 

No.  3.     The  tomahawk,  which  he  lays  by  at 

dinner. 
No.  4.     His  pocket,  which  is  Hkewise  stript  off, 

that  he  may  be  at  full  liberty. 
No.  5.     A  fish.  I  Both  ready 

No.  6.     A  heap  of  roasting  ears.      )  for  dressing. 
No.  7.     The  gourd  of  water. 
No.  8.     A  cockle  shell,  which  they  sometimes 

use  instead  of  a  spoon. 
No.  9.     The  mat  they  sit  on.     All  other  matters 

in  this  figure,  are  understood  by  the 

foregoing,  and  following  descriptions. 

"Their  fashion  of  sitting  at  meals,  is  on  a 
mat  spread  on  the  ground,  with  their  legs  out  at 
length  before  them,  and  the  dish  between  their 
legs,  for  which  reason,  they  seldom  or  never  sit 
more  than  two  together,  at  a  dish,  who  may  with 
convenience  mix  their  legs  together,  and  have 
the  dish  stand  commodiously  to  them  both.  As 
appears  by  the  figure. 

"The  spoons  which  they  eat  with,  do  generally 
hold  half  a  pint;  and  they  laugh  at  the  English 
for  using  small  ones,  which  they  must  be  forced 
to  carry  so  often  to  their  mouths,  that  their  arms 
are  in  danger  of  being  tired,  before  their  belly."' 

"The  men  bestow  their  times  in  fishing,  hunt- 
ing, wars,  and  such  man-like  exercises,  scorning 
to  be  seen  in  any  woman-like  exercise,  which  is 
the  cause  that  the  women  be  very  painful,^ 
and  the  men  often  idle.     The  women  and  chil- 

'  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  16-17. 
*  Oppressed  with  cares  and  duties. 


76  The  Forest  Primeval 

dren  do  the  rest  of  the  work.  They  make  mats, 
baskets,  pots,  morters,  pound  their  corn,  make 
their  bread,  prepare  their  victuals,  plant  their 
corn,  gather  their  corn,  bear  all  kind  of  burdens, 
and  such  like."  ' 

"Their  manner  of  feeding  is  in  this  wise. 
They  lay  a  mat  made  of  bents  ^  on  the  ground,  and 
set  their  meat  on  the  midst  ^  thereof,  and  then 
sit  down  round,  the  men  upon  one  side,  and  the 
women  on  the  other.  Their  meat  is  maize  sod- 
den,'^  in  such  sort  as  I  described  it  in  the  former 
treatise,  of  very  good  taste,  deer-flesh,  or  of  some 
other  beast,  and  fish.  They  are  very  sober  in 
their  eating,  and  drinking,  and  consequently  very 
long  lived  because  they  do  not  oppress  nature.  "^ 

Spelman's  account  of  the  manner  the  Indians 
sat  at  meat  is  not  like  the  picture  given  above, 
which  represents  the  man  and  his  wife  sitting 
opposite  to  each  other.     He  says: 

"They  sit  on  mats  round  about  the  house  the 
men  by  themselves  and  the  women  by  themselves, 
the  women  bring  to  every  one  a  dish  of  meat,  for 
the  better  sort  never  eat  together  in  one  dish, 
when  he  hath  eaten  what  he  will  or  that  which 
was  given  him,  for  he  looks  for  no  second  course, 
he  sets  down  his  dish  by  him  and  mum.bleth  cer- 
tain words  to  himself  in  manner  of  giving  thanks. 
If  any  be  left  the  women  gather  it  up,  and  either 
keep  it  till  the  next  meal,  or  give  it  to  the  poorer 
sort,  if  any  be  there.  "^ 

'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  131.  ^  Made  of  bent  or  plaited  grass,  etc. 

3  Center.  4  Boiled.  '  Harlot's  Narrative,  xvi. 

*  Spelman's  Relation  of  Virginia,  p.  51. 


CHAPTER   IV 


MARRIAGE 


SPELMAN  gives  us   this  account   of  their 
manner  of  marrying: 

"The  custom  is  to  have  many  wives 
and  to  buy  them,  so  it  is  he  which  has  most  copper 
and  beads  may  have  most  wives,  for  if  he  taketh 
Hking  of  any  woman  he  makes  love  to  her,  and 
seeketh  to  her  father  or  kinfolks  to  set  what  price 
he  must  pay  for  her,  which  being  once  agreed  on 
the  kindred  meet  and  make  good  cheer,  and  when 
the  sum  agreed  on  be  paid  she  shall  be  delivered 
to  him  for  his  wife.  The  ceremony  is  thus. 
The  parents  bring  their  daughter  between  them, 
if  her  parents  be  dead,  then  some  of  her  kin- 
folks,  or  whom  it  pleaseth  the  king'  to  appoint 
(for  the  man  goes  not  unto  any  place  to  be 
married,  but  the  woman  is  brought  to  him  where 
he  dwelleth).  At  her  coming  to  him,  her  father 
or  chief  friend  joins  the  hands  together,  and  then 
the  father  or  chief  friend  of  the  man  bringeth  a 
long  string  of  beads  and  measuring  his  arm's 
length  thereof  doth  break  it  over  the  hands  of 

'  It  was  by  this  title  that  the  English  designated  the  Wer-6-ances, 
or  Chiefs,  of  the  various  tribes  of  Indians. 
77 


78  The  Forest  Primeval 

those  that  are  to  be  married  while  their  hands  be 
joined  together,  and  gives  it  unto  the  woman's 
father  or  him  that  brings  her,  and  so  with  much 
mirth  and  feasting  they  go  together. 

"  When  the  king  of  the  country  will  have  any 
wives  he  acquaints  his  chief  men  with  his  purpose, 
who  sends  into  all  parts  of  the  country  for  the 
fairest  and  comliest  maids  out  of  which  the  king 
taketh  his  choice,  giving  their  parents  what  he 
pleaseth.  If  any  of  the  king's  wives  have  once 
a  child  by  him,  he  keeps  her  no  longer,  but  puts 
her  from  him  giving  her  sufficient  copper  and 
beads  to  maintain  her  and  the  child  while  it  is 
young,  and  then  is  taken  from  her  and  main- 
tained by  the  king,  it  now  being  lawful  for  her 
being  thus  put  away  to  marry  with  any  other. 
The  king,  Powhatan,  having  many  wives,  when 
he  goeth  a  hunting  or  to  visit  another  king 
under  him  (for  he  goeth  not  out  of  his  own 
country),  he  leaveth  them  with  two  old  men  who 
have  the  charge  of  them  till  his  return."  ' 

"They  express  their  love  to  such  women  as 
they  would  make  choice  to  live  withall,  by  pre- 
senting them  with  the  fruits  of  their  labors,  as 
by  fowl,  fish,  or  wild  beasts,  which  by  their 
huntings,  their  bows  and  arrows,  by  weirs,  or 
otherwise,  they  obtain,  which  they  bring  unto 
the  young  women,  as  also  of  such  summer  fruits 
and  berries  which  their  travels  abroad  hath  made 
them  known  readily  where  to  gather,  and  those 
of  the  best  kind  in  their  season.     If  the  young 

'  Spelman's  Relation  of  Virginia,  p.  32. 


Marriage  79 

maiden  become  once  to  be  sororians  virgo,^  and 
live  under  parents,  the  parents  must  allow  of  the 
suitor;  and  for  their  good  will,  the  wooer  prom- 
iseth  that  the  daughter  shall  not  want  of  such 
provisions,  nor  of  deer-skins  fitly  dressed  for  to 
wear;  besides,  he  promiseth  to  do  his  endeavor 
to  procure  her  beads,  pearl,  and  copper,  and,  for 
handsell,'  gives  her  before  them  something  as 
a  kind  of  arrasponsalitia,^  token  of  betrothing  or 
contract  of  a  further  amity  and  acquaintance  to 
be  continued  between  them,  and  so  after  as  the 
liking  grows ;  and  as  soon  as  he  hath  provided  her 
a  house  (if  he  hath  none  before)  and  some  plat- 
ters, morters,  and  mats,  he  takes  her  home;  and 
the  wer-6-ances  after  this  manner  may  have  as 
many  as  they  can  obtain,  howbeit  all  the  rest 
whom  they  take  after  their  first  choice  are  (as  it 
were)  mercenary,  hired  but  by  covenant  and 
condition,  for  a  time,  a  year  or  so,  after  which 
they  may  put  them  away;  but  if  they  keep  them 
longer  than  the  time  appointed,  they  must  ever 
keep  them,  how  deformed,  diseased,  or  unaccom- 
paniable  soever  they  may  prove. "  "^ 

Courtship  and  marriage  among  the  Indians 
is  thus  described  by  Jones: 

"Courtship  was  short,  and  like  their  mar- 
riage unembarrassed  by  ceremony.  If  the  pre- 
sents of  a  young  warrior  are  accepted  by  his 


A  girl  growing  up  with  a  man  as  his  sister. 

The  first  present  sent  to  a  young  woman  on  her  wedding  day. 
"Earnest  money  in  ratification  of  the  espousals." 
!  Strachey,  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  109. 


8o  The  Forest  Primeval 

mistress,  she  is  considered  as  having  agreed  to 
become  his  wife,  and  without  any  farther  explan- 
ations to  her  family,  she  goes  home  to  his  hut. 
The  principles  that  are  to  regulate  their  future 
conduct  are  well  understood.  He  agrees  to  per- 
form the  more  laborious  duties  of  hunting  and 
fishing;  of  felling  the  trees,  erecting  the  hut,  con- 
structing the  canoe,  and  of  fighting  the  enemies 
of  the  tribe.  To  her  custom  had  assigned  almost 
all  the  domestic  duties;  to  prepare  the  food;  to 
watch  over  the  infancy  of  the  children.  The 
nature  of  their  lives  and  circumstances  added 
another,  which  with  more  propriety,  taken  in  a 
general  view,  should  have  been  exercised  by  the 
male.  It  belonged  to  the  women  to  plant  the 
corn,  and  attend  all  the  other  productions  of  an 
Indian  garden  or  plantation.  But  the  labour 
required  for  raising  these  articles  was  trifling, 
and  the  warriors  being  engaged  in  hunting  and 
war,  had  neither  leisure  nor  inclination  to  attend 
to  objects  of  such  inferior  consideration. 

"Marriage,  or  the  union  of  husband  and  wife, 
stood  precisely  on  the  same  footing  as  amongst 
the  other  American  tribes.  A  man  might  keep 
as  many  wives  as  he  could  support.  But  in 
general  they  had  but  one,  whom,  without  being 
obliged  to  assign  any  reason,  they  might  at  any 
time  abandon,  and  immediately  form  a  new 
engagement.  The  rights  of  the  woman  are  the 
same  with  this  difi^erence,  that  she  cannot  marry 
again  until  the  next  annual  festival. 

"Nothing  appears  to  them  more  repugnant  to 


Marriagfe  8i 


^^3 


nature  and  reason  than  the  contrary  system 
which  prevails  among  Christians.  The  Great 
Spirit,  say  they,  hath  created  us  all  to  be  happy; 
and  we  should  offend  him  were  we  to  live  in  a 
perpetual  state  of  constraint  and  uneasiness. 

"This  system  agrees  with  what  one  of  the 
Mi-am-is  said  to  one  of  our  missionaries.  My 
wife  and  I  were  continually  at  variance;  my 
neighbour  disagreed  equally  with  his;  we  have 
changed  wives,  and  are  all  satisfied."  ' 

"  They  punish  adultery  in  a  woman  by  cutting 
off  her  hair,  which  they  fix  upon  a  long  pole 
without  the  town;  which  is  such  a  disgrace 
that  the  party  is  obliged  to  fly,  and  becomes  a 
victim  of  some  enemy,  a  slave  to  some  rover,  or 
perishes  in  the  woods. "  ^ 

*'The  Indians  have  their  solemnities  of  mar- 
riage, and  esteem  the  vows  made  at  that  time,  as 
most  sacred  and  inviolable.  Notwithstanding 
they  allow  both  the  man  and  the  wife  to  part 
upon  disagreement;  yet  so  great  is  the  disreputa- 
tion of  a  divorce,  that  married  people,  to  avoid 
the  character  of  inconstant  and  ungenerous,  very 
rarely  let  their  quarrels  proceed  to  a  separation. 
However,  when  it  does  so  happen,  they  reckon 
all  the  ties  of  matrimony  dissolved,  and  each 
hath  the  liberty  of  marrying  another.  But 
infidelity  is  accounted  the  most  unpardonable  of 
all  crimes  in  either  of  the  parties,  as  long  as  the 
contract  continues. 

'  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  6o-l. 
'  Jones's  Present  Stale  of  Virginia,  p.  i6. 
6 


82  The  Forest  Primeval 

"In  these  separations,  the  children  go,  accord- 
ing to  the  affection  of  the  parent,  with  the  one 
or  the  other;  for  children  are  not  reckoned  a 
charge  among  them,  but  rather  riches,  according 
to  the  blessing  of  the  Old  Testament;  and  if  they 
happen  to  differ  about  dividing  their  children, 
their  method  is  then,  to  part  them  equally, 
allowing  the  man  the  first  choice."^ 

"The  reason  which  each  chief  patron  of  a 
family,  especially  wer-6-ances,  are  desirous,  and 
indeed  strive  for  many  wives,  is,  because  they 
would  have  many  children,  who  may,  if  chance 
be,  fight  for  them  when  they  are  old,  as  also  then 
feed  and  maintain  them;  yet  sure,  for  the  num- 
ber of  people  inhabiting  these  parts,  this  country 
hath  not  appeared  so  populous  here  to  us  as 
elsewhere  in  the  West  Indies;  and  perhaps  their 
ignorance  in  not  finding  out  yet  the  use  of  many 
things  necessary  and  beneficial  to  nature,  which 
their  country  yet  plentifully  and  naturally  af- 
fords, their  often  wars  for  women  (in  which 
many  hundred  perish)  and  their  immoderate  use 
and  multiplicity  of  women  (and  those  often  full 
of  foul  diseases)  leave  this  country  not  so  well 
stocked  as  other  parts  of  the  main,  and  as  the 
islands  have  been  found  to  be  by  the  Spaniards; 
besides  (under  correction)  it  yet  may  be  a  prob- 
lem in  philosophy  whether  variety  of  women 
be  a  furtherance  or  hinderer  of  many  births,  it 
being  clear  in  these  countries  where  (as  I  said) 
so  many  penuries  for  want  of  knowledge  yet  be 

'  Beverley,  book  3,  p.  8. 


Marriage  83 

amongst  the  people,  that  the  tired  body  cannot 
have  those  sensual  helps  (as  the  Turks)  to  hold 
up  the  immoderate  desires,  many  women  divid- 
ing the  body,  and  the  strength  thereof,  make  it 
general  unfit  to  the  office  of  increase  rather  than 
otherwise:  and  so  may  the  common  people 
especially,  for  the  most  part,  for  this  reason  like- 
wise be  not  so  long  lived  here  as  elsewhere,  even 
amongst  savages  where  greater  moderation  is 
used,  and  where  they  keep  a  stricter  ceremony 
in  their  kind  of  marriages,  and  have  not  as  many 
women  as  they  can  buy  or  Vvin  by  force  and 
violence  from  the  enemies. 

"We  observe  that  those  Indians  which  have 
one,  two  or  more  women,  take  much  [tobacco] 
— but  such  as  yet  have  no  appropriate  woman 
take  little  or  none  at  all. "' 

'  Strachey,  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  pp.  114,  122. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE    SEASONS    AND    FESTIVALS 

BEVERLEY  says: 
"They  make  their  account  by  units,  tens, 
hundreds,  &:c,  as  we  do,  but  they  reckon 
the  years  by  the  winters,  or  co-honks,  as  they  call 
them;  which  is  a  name  taken  from  the  note  of  the 
wild  geese,  intimating  so  many  times  of  the  wild 
geese  coming  to  them,  which  Is  every  winter. 
They  distinguish  the  several  parts  of  the  year, 
by  five  seasons,  viz:  The  budding  or  blossoming 
of  the  spring;  the  earing  of  the  corn,  or  roasting 
ear  time;  the  summer,  or  highest  sun;  the  corn 
gathering,  or  fall  of  the  leaf;  and  the  winter 
co-honks.  They  count  the  months  likewise  by 
the  moons,  though  not  with  any  relation  to  so 
many  in  a  year,  as  we  do:  but  they  make  them 
return  again  by  the  same  name,  as  the  Moon  of 
Stags,  the  Corn  Moon,  the  first  and  second 
Moon  of  Co-honks,  &c.  They  have  no  distinc- 
tion of  the  hours  of  the  day,  but  divide  it  only 
into  three  parts,  the  rise,  power  and  lowering  of 
the  sun.  And  they  keep  their  account  by  knots 
on  a  string,  or  notches  on  a  stick,  not  unlike  the 
Peruvian  quippoes.'" 

'  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  43-4.     A  quipu  was  a  cord  about  two  feet 
long,  tightly  spun  from  variously  colored  threads,  and  having  a 
84 


The  Seasons  and  Festivals  85 

"At  a  certain  time  of  the  year  they  make  a 
great,  and  solemn  feast,  whereunto  their  neigh- 
bors of  the  towns  adjoining  repair  from  all 
parts,  every  man  attired  in  the  most  strange 
fashion  they  can  devise,  having  certain  marks  on 
the  backs  to  declare  of  what  place  they  be.  The 
place  where  they  meet  is  a  broad  plain,  about  the 
which  are  planted  in  the  ground,  certain  posts 
carved  with  heads  like  to  the  faces  of  nuns 
covered  with  their  veils.  Then  being  set  in 
order  they  dance,  sing,  and  use  the  strangest 
gestures  that  they  can  possibly  devise.  Three 
of  the  fairest  virgins  of  the  company,  are  in  the 
midst  which  embracing  one  another  do  as  it 
were  turn  about  in  their  dancing.  All  this  is 
done  after  the  sun  is  set,  for  avoiding  of  heat. 
When  they  are  weary  of  dancing  they  go  out  of 
the  circle,  and  come  in  until  their  dances  be 
ended,  and  they  go  to  make  merry  as  is  expressed 
in  the  figure.' 

"Those  Vk'hich  on  each  side  are  hopping  upon 
their  hams,^  take  that  way  of  coming  up  to  the 
ring,  and,  when  they  find  an  opportunity,  strike 
in  among  the  rest."^ 

"For  their  music  they  use  a  thick  cane,  on 
which  they  pipe  as  on  a  recorder.^     For  their 


number  of  smaller  threads  attached  to  it  in  the  form  of  a  fringe, 
used  among  the  ancient  Peruvians  for  recording  events,  &c. 

'  Hariot's  Narrative,  xviii.  Figure  means  the  picture  opposite  the 
preceding  page.  »  Thighs.  ^  Beverley,  book  3,  p.  54. 

4  A  musical  instrument  of  the  flageolet  family  having  a  long  tube 
with  seven  holes  and  a  mouthpiece.  The  compass  of  the  instrument 
was  about  two  octaves. 


86  The  Forest  Primeval 

wars  they  have  a  great  deep  platter  of  wood. 
They  cover  the  mouth  thereof  with  a  skin,  at  each 
corner  they  tie  a  walnut,  which  meeting  on  the 
back  side  near  the  bottom,  with  a  small  rope  they 
twitch  them  together  till  it  be  taut  and  stiff, 
that  they  may  beat  upon  it  as  upon  a  drum. 
But  their  chief  instruments  are  rattles  made  of 
small  gourds,  or  pumpeon  shells.  Of  these  they^ 
have  base,  tenor,  countertenor,'  mean,^  and 
treble.  These  mingled  with  their  voices,  some- 
times twenty  or  thirty  together,  make  such  a 
terrible  noise  as  would  rather  affright  than  de- 
light any  man.  "-^ 

"Their  sports  and  pastimes  are  singing,  danc- 
ing, instrumental  music,  and  some  boisterous 
plays,  which  are  performed  by  running,  catching 
and  leaping  upon  one  another;  they  have  also 
one  great  diversion,  to  the  practising  of  which 
are  requisite  whole  handfuls  of  sticks  or  hard 
straws,  which  they  know  how  to  count  as  fast  as 
they  can  cast  their  eyes  upon  them,  and  can 
handle  with  a  surprising  dexterity. 

"Their  singing  is  not  the  most  charming  that 
I  have  heard,  it  consists  much  in  exalting  the 
voice,  and  is  full  of  slow  melancholy  accents. 
However,  I  must  allow  even  this  music  to  contain 
some  wild  notes  that  are  agreeable. 

"Their  dancing  is  performed  either  by  few  or 
a  great  company,  but  without  much  regard  either 
to  time  or  figure.     The  first  of  these  is  by  one  or 

'  High  tenor,  or  alto. 

» A  middle  voice  or  voice-part.  »  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  136. 


The  Seasons  and  Festivals  87 

two  persons,  or  at  most  by  three.  In  the  mean- 
time, the  company  sit  about  them  in  a  ring  upon 
the  ground,  singing  outrageously  and  shaking 
their  rattles.  The  dancers  sometimes  sing,  and 
sometimes  look  menacing  and  terrible,  beat- 
ing their  feet  furiously  against  the  ground,  and 
showing  ten  thousand  grimaces  and  distortions. 
The  other  is  performed  by  a  great  number  of 
people,  the  dancers  themselves  forming  a  ring, 
and  moving  round  a  circle  of  carved  posts, 
that  are  set  up  for  that  purpose;  or  else  round  a 
fire,  made  in  a  convenient  part  of  the  town;  and 
then  each  has  his  rattle  in  his  hand,  or  what 
other  thing  he  fancies  most,  as  his  bow  and 
arrows,  or  his  tomahawk.  They  also  dress 
themselves  up  with  branches  of  trees,  or  some 
other  strange  accoutrement.  Thus  they  proceed, 
dancing  and  singing,  with  all  the  antic  postures 
they  can  invent;  and  he  is  the  bravest  fellow 
that  has  the  most  prodigious  gestures.  Som.e- 
times  they  place  three  young  women  in  the 
middle  of  the  circle,  as  you  see  in  the  figure.' 

"They  have  a  fire  made  constantly  every  night, 
at  a  convenient  place  in  the  town,  whither  all 
that  have  a  mind  to  be  merry,  at  the  public  dance 
or  music,  resort  in  the  evening. 

"Their  musical  instruments  are  chiefly  drums 
and  rattles.  Their  drums  are  made  of  a  skin, 
stretched  over  an  earthen  pot  half  full  of  water. 
Their  rattles  are  the  shell  of  a  small  gourd  or 
macock  of  the  creeping  kind.  "^ 

'  Picture.  *  Beverley,  book  3,  pp  53-5. 


88  The  Forest  Primeval 

Spelman  gives  this  account  of  their  pastimes: 

"When  they  meet  at  feasts  or  otherwise  they 
use  sports  much  hke  to  ours  here  in  England  as 
their  dancing  which  is  like  our  Derbysher^ 
Hornpipe,  a  man  first  and  then  a  woman,  and  so 
through  them  all,  hanging  all  in  a  round  ^  there 
is  one  which  stands  in  the  midst  with  a  pipe^  and 
a  rattle  with  which  when  he  begins  to  make  a 
noise  all  the  rest  gigett"^  about  wringing  their 
necks  and  stamping  on  the  ground. 

"They  use  beside  football  play,  which  women 
and  young  boys  do  much  play  at.  The  men 
never.  They  make  their  goals  as  ours,  only  they 
never  fight  nor  pull  one  another  down. 

"The  men  play  with  a  little  ball  letting  it  fall 
out  of  their  hand  and  striketh  it  with  the  top  of 
his  foot,  and  he  that  can  strike  the  ball  furthest 
wins  that  they  play  for.  "^ 

"When  they  have  escaped  any  great  danger 
by  sea  or  land,  or  be  returned  from  the  war,  in 
token  of  joy  they  make  a  great  fire  about  which 
the  men  and  women  sit  together,  holding  a  cer- 
tain fruit  in  their  hands  like  unto  a  round  pom- 
pion^  or  a  gourd,  which  after  they  have  taken  out 
the  fruits,  and  the  seeds,  then  fill  with  small 
stones  or  certain  big  kernels  to  make  the  more 
noise  and  fasten  that  upon  a  stick,  and  singing 
after  their  manner,  they  make  merry:  as  myself 
observed  and  noted  down  at  my  being  among 

'  Derbyshire,  a  midland  county  of  England.  '  Circle. 

3  Flageolet  or  whistle.  ^  Move  rapidly. 

s  Spelman 's  Relation  of  Virginia,  p.  57.  *  Pumpkin. 


'Their  Manner  of  Praying  with  Rattles  about  the  Fire" 


The  Seasons  and  Festivals  89 

them.  For  it  is  a  strange  custom,  and  worth  the 
observation.'" 

Kercheval  gives  us  this  explanation  of  the  term 
''Indian  Summer." 

"This  expression,  like  many  others,  has  con- 
tinued in  general  use,  notwithstanding  its 
original  import  has  been  forgotten.  A  back- 
woodsman seldom  hears  this  expression  without 
feeling  a  chill  of  horror,  because  it  brings  to  his 
mind  the  painful  recollection  of  its  original  appli- 
cation. Such  is  the  force  of  the  faculty  of  asso- 
ciation in  human  nature. 

"The  reader  must  here  be  reminded,  that, 
during  the  long  continued  Indian  wars  sustained 
by  the  first  settlers  of  the  west,  they  enjoyed  no 
peace  excepting  in  the  winter  season,  when, 
owing  to  the  severity  of  the  weather,  the  Indians 
were  unable  to  make  their  excursions  into  the 
settlements.  The  onset  of  winter  was  therefore 
hailed  as  a  jubilee  by  the  early  inhabitants  of 
the  country,  who  throughout  the  spring  and  early 
part  of  the  fall  had  been  cooped  up  in  their  little 
uncomfortable  forts,  and  subjected  to  all  the 
distresses  of  the  Indian  war. 

"At  the  approach  of  winter,  therefore,  all  the 
farmers,  excepting  the  owner  of  the  fort,  removed 
to  their  cabins  on  their  farms,  \\ith  the  joyful 
feeling  of  a  tenant  of  a  prison,  recovering  his 
release  from  confinement.  All  was  bustle  and 
hilarity  in  preparing  for  winter,  by  gathering 
in  the  corn,  digging  potatoes,  fattening  hogs,  and 

'  Harlot's  Narrative,  xvii. 


90  The  Forest  Primeval 

repairing  the  cabins.  To  our  forefathers  the 
gloomy  months  of  winter  were  more  pleasant 
than  the  zephyrs  and  the  flowers  of  May. 

*'It  however  sometimes  happened,  after  the 
apparent  onset  of  winter,  the  weather  became 
warm;  the  smoky  time  commenced,  and  lasted 
for  a  considerable  number  of  days.  This  was 
the  Indian  summer,  because  it  afforded  the  In- 
dians another  opportunity  of  visiting  the  settle- 
ments v^ith  their  destructive  warfare.  The 
melting  of  the  snow  saddened  every  countenance, 
and  the  genial  warmth  of  the  sun  chilled  every 
heart  with  horror.  The  apprehension  of  another 
visit  from  the  Indians,  and  of  being  driven  back 
to  the  detested  fort,  was  painful  in  the  highest 
degree,  and  the  distressing  apprehension  was 
frequently  realized. 

"Toward  the  latter  part  of  February  we  com- 
monly had  a  fine  spell  of  open  warm  weather, 
during  which  the  snow  melted  away.  This  was 
denominated  the  '  paw-waw^-ing  days,'  from  the 
supposition  that  the  Indians  were  then  holding 
their  war  councils,  for  planning  off  their  spring 
campaigns  into  the  settlements.  Sad  experience 
taught  us  that  in  this  conjecture  we  were  not 
often  mistaken."' 

'  Kercheval's  History  of  the  Valley,  p.  189. 


CHAPTER  VI 

FISHING,    HUNTING,    AND    AGRICULTURE 

THE  Indian  mode  of  fishing,  is  thus  described 
by  Beverley: 

"Before  the  arrival  of  the  Enghsh  there, 
the  Indians  had  fish  in  such  vast  plenty,  that  the 
boys  and  girls  would  take  a  pointed  stick,  and 
strike  the  lesser  sort,  as  they  swam  upon  the 
flats.  The  larger  fish,  that  kept  in  deeper  water, 
they  were  put  to  a  little  more  dif^culty  to  take; 
but  for  these  they  made  weirs,  that  is,  a  hedge 
of  small  rived'  sticks,  or  reeds,  of  the  thickness 
of  a  man's  finger,  these  they  wove  together  in  a 
row,  with  straps  of  green  oak,  or  other  tough 
wood,  so  close  that  the  small  fish  could  not  pass 
through.  Upon  high  water  mark,'  they  pitched^ 
one  end  of  this  hedge,  and  the  other  they  ex- 
tended into  the  river,  to  the  depth  of  eight  or 
ten  feet,  fastening  it  with  stakes,  making  cods"^ 
out  from  the  hedge  on  one  side,  almost  at  the  end, 
and  leaving  a  gap  for  the  fish  to  go  into  them, 

'  Split. 

"  That  is  when  the  tide  was  at  its  highest  point,  just  before  the 
ebb  set  in.  3  Fastened  into  the  ground. 

4  Enclosures  Hke  a  pouch  or  bag. 
91 


92  The  Forest  Primeval 

which  were  contrived  so  that  the  fish  could 
easily  find  their  passage  into  those  cods,  when 
they  were  at  the  gap,  but  not  see  their  way  out 
again,  when  they  were  in:  thus  if  they  offered 
to  pass  through,  they  were  taken. 

"Sometimes  they  made  such  a  hedge  as  this, 
quite  across  a  creek  at  high-water,  and  at  low 
would  go  into  the  run,  so  contracted  into  a 
narrow  compass,  and  take  out  what  fish  they 
pleased. 

"At  the  falls  of  the  rivers,  where  the  water 
is  shallow,  and  the  current  strong,  the  Indians 
use  another  kind  of  weir,  thus  made:  They 
make  a  dam  of  loose  stone,  whereof  there  is 
plenty  at  hand,  quite  across  the  river,  leaving 
one,  two,  or  more  spaces  or  trunnels,  for  the 
water  to  pass  through;  at  the  mouth  of  which 
they  set  a  pot  of  reeds,  wove  in  form  of  a  cone, 
whose  base  is  about  three  feet,  and  perpendicular 
ten,  into  which  the  swiftness  of  the  current  car- 
ries the  fish,  and  wedges  them  so  fast,  that  they 
cannot  possibly  return. 

"The  Indian  way  of  catching  sturgeon  when 
they  came  into  the  narrow  part  of  the  rivers,  was 
by  a  man's  clapping'  a  noose  over  their  tail,  and 
by  keeping  fast  his  hold.  Thus  a  fish  finding  it- 
self intangled,  would  flounce,  and  often  pull  them 
under  water,  and  then  that  man  was  counted 
a  cock-a-rouse,  or  brave  fellow  that  would  not 
let  go,  till  with  swimming,  wading  and  diving 
he  had  tired  the  sturgeon,  and  brought  it  ashore. 

»  Put  by  a  sudden  movement. 


Fishing,  Hunting,  and  Agriculture    93 

These  sturgeon  would  also  often  leap  into  their 
canoes,  in  crossing  the  river,  as  many  of  them  do 
still  every  year,  into  the  boats  of  the  English. 

"They  have  also  another  way  of  fishing  like 
those  on  the  Euxine  sea,  by  the  help  of  a  blazing 
fire  at  night.  They  make  a  hearth  in  the  middle 
of  their  canoe,  raising  it  within  two  inches  of 
the  edge:  upon  this  they  lay  their  burning  light- 
wood,  split  into  small  shivers,  each  splinter 
whereof  will  blaze  and  burn,  end  for  end,  like  a 
candle.  'Tis  one  man's  work  to  tend  this  fire 
and  keep  it  flaming.  At  each  end  of  the  canoe 
stands  an  Indian,  with  a  gig,  or  pointed  spear, 
setting  the  canoe  forward  with  the  butt-end  of 
the  spear,  as  gently  as  he  can,  by  that  means 
stealing  upon  the  fish,  without  any  noise,  or  dis- 
turbing of  the  water.  Then  they,  with  great 
dexterity,  dart  these  spears  into  the  fish,  and  so 
take  them.  Now  there  is  a  double  convenience 
in  the  blaze  of  this  fire:  for  it  not  only  dazzles  the 
eyes  of  the  fish,  which  will  lie  still,  glaring  upon 
it,  but  likewise  discovers  the  bottom  of  the  river 
clearly  to  the  fisherman,  which  the  daylight  does 
not."^ 

Glover,  in  describing  this  fire-fishing,  says 
that  the  hearth  was  fixed  at  the  head  of  the  canoe, 
and  in  it,  on  a  dark  night,  would  be  made  a  fire 
with  sticks  of  pine.  They  would  then  paddle 
along  the  shore  in  shallow  water.  The  fish, 
seeing  the  light,  ^^'ould  come  as  thick  as  they 
could  swim  by  each  other  to  the  head  of  the  canoe. 

'  Beverley,  book  2,  pp.  32-4. 


94  The  Forest  Primeval 

With  sharpened  sticks  the  Indians  would  strike 
through  them,  and  lift  them  into  the  canoe.' 

Strachey,  speaking  of  the  ingenuity  of  the 
Indians,  describes  their  weirs  as: 

"Certain  enclosures  made  of  reeds,  and  framed 
in  the  fashion  of  a  labyrinth  or  maze  set  a  fathom 
deep  in  the  water,  with  divers  chambers  or  beds, 
out  of  which  the  entangled  fish  cannot  return 
or  get  out,  being  once  in.  Well  may  a  great  one, 
by  chance,  break  the  reeds  and  so  escape,  other- 
wise he  remains  a  prey  to  the  fishermen  the  next 
low  water,  which  they  fish  with  a  net  at  the  end 
of  a  pole."'' 

The  picture  on  the  next  page  represents  the 
Indians  in  a  canoe,  with  a  fire  in  the  middle, 
tended  by  a  boy  and  a  girl.  In  one  end  is  a 
net  made  of  silk  grass,  which  they  use  in  fishing 
their  weirs.  Above  is  the  shape  of  their  weirs, 
and  the  manner  of  setting  a  weir-wedge  across 
the  mouth  of  a  creek. 

"Note,  that  in  fishing  their  weirs,  they  lay 
the  side  of  the  canoe  to  the  cods^  of  the  weir, 
for  the  more  convenient  coming  at  them,  and 
not  with  the  end  going  into  the  cods,  as  is  set 
down  in  the  print.  But  we  could  not  otherwise 
represent  it  here,  lest  we  should  have  confounded 
the  shape  of  the  weir,  with  the  canoe. 

"In  the  air  you  see  a  fishing-hawk  flying  away 

^Account  of  Virginia,  pp.  23-4. 
'  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  68. 

3  The  cods  of  the  weir  are  the  parts  forming  the  pouch,  or  bag  in 
which  the  fish  were  entrapped. 


Fishino;-,  Hunting-,  and  Agriculture     95 


'£5 


with  a  fish,  and  a  bald-eagle  pursuing,  to  take  it 
from  him;  the  bald-eagle  has  always  his  head  and 
tail  white,  and  they  carry  such  a  lustre  with  them 
that  the  white  thereof  may  be  discerned  as  far 
as  you  can  see  the  shape  of  the  bird. '" 

"Their  fishing  is  much  in  boats.  These  they 
make  of  one  tree  by  burning  and  scratching  away 
the  coals  with  stones  and  shells,  till  they  have 
made  it  in  form  of  a  trough.  Some  of  them 
are  an  elne'  deep,  and  forty  or  fifty  feet  in  length, 
and  some  will  bear  40  men,  but  the  most 
ordinary  are  smaller,  and  will  bear  10,  20, 
or  30,  according  to  their  bigness.  Instead  of 
oars,  they  use  paddles  and  sticks,  with  which 
they  will  row  faster  than  our  barges.  Betwixt 
their  hands  and  thighs,  their  women  use  to 
spin  the  barks  of  trees,  deer  sinews  or  a  kind  of 
grass  they  call  pem-me-naw,  of  these  they  make 
a  thread  very  even  and  readily.  This  thread 
serveth  for  many  uses.  As  about  their  housing, 
apparel,  as  also  they  make  nets  for  fishing,  for 
the  quantity  as  formally  braided^  as  ours.  They 
also  make  with  it  lines  for  angles. *  Their  hooks 
are  either  a  bone  grated  as  they  notch  their 
arrows  in  the  form  of  a  crooked  pin  or  fish-hook, 
or  of  the  splinter  of  a  bone  tied  to  the  clift^  of 
a  little  stick,  and  with  the  end  of  the  line,  they 
tie  on  the  bait.  They  use  also  long  arrows  tied 
in  a  line,  wherewith  they  shoot  at  fish  in  the 
rivers.    But  they  of  Ac-caw-mack^  use  staves  like 

'  Beverley,  book  2,  pp.  34-5.         '  The  English  ell,  45  inches. 

3  Interwoven.  *  Fish-hooks. 

s  Crotch  or  fork.  '  The  Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia. 


96  The  Forest  Primeval 

unto  javelins  headed  with  bone.  With  these 
they  dart'  fish  swimming  in  the  water.  They 
have  also  many  artificial^  weirs,  in  which  they 
get  abundance  of  fish. 

"In  their  hunting  and  fishing,  they  take  ex- 
treme pains;  yet  it  being  their  ordinary  exercise 
from  their  infancy,  they  esteem  it  a  pleasure  and 
are  very  proud  to  be  expert  therein.  And  by 
their  continual  ranging^  and  travel,  they  know  all 
the  advantages  and  places  most  frequented  with 
deer,  beasts,  fish,  fowl,  roots  and  berries.  At 
their  huntings  they  leave  their  habitations,  and 
reduce  themselves  into  companies  as  the  Tartars 
do,  and  go  to  the  most  desert  places  with  their 
families,  where  they  spend  their  time  in  hunting 
and  fowling  up  towards  the  mountains,  by  the 
heads  of  their  rivers,  where  there  is  plenty  of 
game.  For  betwixt  the  rivers'*  the  grounds  are  so 
narrow  that  little  cometh  here  which  they  devour 
not.  It  is  a  marvel  they  can  so  directly  pass 
these  deserts,^  some  three  or  four  days'  journey 
without  habitation. 

"Their  hunting-houses  are  like  unto  arbors 
covered  with  mats.  These  their  women  bear 
after  them,  with  corn,  acorns,  mortars,  and  all 
bag  and  baggage  they  use.  When  they  come  to 
the  place  of  exercise,  every  man  doth  his  best  to 
show  his  dexterity,  for  by  their  excelling  in  those 
qualities,    they   get   their   wives.     Forty   yards 

I  Transfix  with  a  dart.       '  Made  by  art  or  science.       '  Hunting. 

4  Smith  here  refers  to  the  peninsula  between  the  James  and  the 
York. 

5  Forests  uninhabited  by  man. 


Fishing,  Hunting,  and  Agriculture    97 

will  they  shoot  level,  or  very  near  the  mark,  and 
120  is  their  best  at  random. 

"At  their  huntings  in  the  deserts  they  are  com- 
monly two  or  three  hundred  together.  Having 
found  the  deer,  they  environ  them  with  many 
fires,  and  betwixt  the  fires  they  place  themselves. 
And  some  take  their  stands  in  the  midst.  The 
deer  being  thus  feared  by  the  fires,  and  their 
voices,  they  chase  them  so  long  within  that  circle, 
that  many  times  they  kill  6,  8,  10  or  15,  at  a 
hunting.  They  used  also  to  drive  them  into  some 
narrow  point  of  land,  when  they  find  that  advan- 
tage; and  so  force  them  into  the  river,  where  with 
their  boats  they  have  ambuscadoes  to  kill  them. 
When  they  have  shot  a  deer  by  land,  they  follow 
him  like  bloodhounds  by  the  blood,  and  strain,^ 
and  often-times  so  take  them.  Hares,  par- 
tridges, turkeys  or  eggs,  fat  or  lean,  young  or  old, 
they  devour  all  they  can  catch  in  their  power. 
In  one  of  these  huntings  they  found  me  in  the  dis- 
covery of  the  head  of  the  river  of  Chick-a-ham- 
a-ni-a,^  where  they  slew  my  men,  and  took  me 
prisoner  in  a  bogmlre,^  where  I  saw  those  ex- 
ercises, and  gathered  these  observations. 

"One  savage  hunting  alone,  useth  the  skin  of  a 
deer  slit  on  the  one  side,  and  so  put  on  his  arm, 
through  the  neck,  so  that  his  hand  comes  to  the 
head  which  is  stuffed,  and  the  horns,  head,  eyes, 
ears,  and  every  part  as  artificially*  counterfeited 
as  they  can  devise.     Thus  shrowding  his  bod}^  in 

'  A  hunting  term  meaning  the  view  or  track  of  the  game. 

»  The  Chickahominy.  ■^  Swamp  or  marsh.  *  Artfully. 


98  The  Forest  Primeval 

the  skin  by  stalking/  he  approacheth  the  deer, 
creeping  on  the  ground  from  one  tree  to  another. 
If  the  deer  chance  to  find  fault/  or  stand  at  gaze, 
he  turneth  the  head  with  his  hand  to  his  best 
advantage  to  seem  like  a  deer,  also  gazing  and 
licking  himself.  So  watching  his  best  advantage 
to  approach,  having  shot  him,  he  chaseth  him  by 
his  blood  and  strain  till  he  get  him."^ 

"They  have  likewise  a  notable  way  to  catch 
fish  in  their  rivers,  for  whereas  they  lack  both 
iron,  and  steel,  they  fasten  unto  their  reeds  or 
long  rods,  the  hollow  tail  of  a  certain  fish  like  to 
a  sea-crab  instead  of  a  point,  wherewith  by  night 
or  day  they  strike^  fish,  and  take  them  up  into 
their  boats.  They  also  know  how  to  use  the 
prickles,  and  pricks  of  other  fishes.  They  also 
make  weirs,  with  setting  up  reeds  or  twigs  in  the 
water,  which  they  so  plant  one  with  another, 
that  they  grow  narrower,  and  narrower  as 
appeareth  by  this  figure.^  There  was  never  seen 
among  us  so  cunning  a  way  to  take  fish  withal, 
whereof  sundry  sorts  as  they  found  in  their 
rivers,  unlike  unto  ours,  which  are  also  a  very 
good  taste.  Doubtless  it  is  a  pleasant  sight  to 
see  the  people  sometimes  wading,  and  going 
sometimes  sailing  in  those  rivers,  which  are 
shallow  and  not  deep,  free  from  all  care  of  heap- 
ing up  riches  for  their  posterity,  content  with 
their  state,  and  living  friendly  together  of  those 

'  Approaching  quietly  and  warily.        '  Catch  scent  of  the  hunter. 
3  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  132-4.  ^  Strike  with  a  spear. 

s  The  picture  already  given  showing  the  Indian  modes  of  fishing. 


Fishing,  Hunting,  and  Agriculture    99 

things  which  God  of  his  bounty  hath  given  unto 
them,  yet  without  giving  him  any  thanks  accord- 
ing to  his  deserts. "  ' 

Spelman  gives  this  account  of  their  hunting: 

"Their  manner  of  their  hunting  is  this,  they 
meet  some  200  or  300  together  and  having 
their  bo\\s  and  arrows  and  every  one  with  a 
fire-stick  in  their  hand  they  beset  a  great 
thicket  round  about,  which  done,  every  one  sets 
fire  on  the  rank  grass,  which  the  dear  feigne^ 
fleeth  from  the  fire,  and  the  men  coming  in  by 
a  httle  and  httle  encloseth  their  game  in  a 
narrow  room,^  so  as  with  their  bows  and  arrows 
they  kill  them  at  their  pleasure,  taking  their  skins 
which  is  the  greatest  thing  they  desire,  and  some 
flesh  for  their  provision.""^ 

The  Indian  hunting  is  thus  more  fully  de- 
scribed   by   Beverley: 

"The  Indians  had  no  other  way  of  taking  their 
water  or  land  fowl,  but  by  the  help  of  bows  and 
arrows:  yet,  so  great  was  their  plenty  that  with 
this  weapon  only,  they  killed  what  numbers 
they  pleased.  And  when  the  water-fowl  kept 
far  from  shore  (as  in  warmer  weather  they 
sometimes  did),  they  took  their  canoes,  and 
paddled  after  them. 

"  But  they  had  a  better  way  of  killing  the  elks, 
buffaloes,  deer,  and  greater  game,  by  a  method 
which  we  call  fire-hunting:  That  is,  a  company  of 
them  would  go  together  back  into  the  woods, 

'  Hariot's  Narrative,  xiii.  »  Desiring  to  flee  from. 

J  Area.  4  Spelman 's  Relation  oj  Virginia,  p.  31. 


100  The  Forest  Primeval 

any  time  in  the  winter,  when  the  leaves  were 
fallen,  and  so  dry,  that  they  would  burn;  and 
being  come  to  the  place  designed,  they  would  fire 
the  woods,  in  a  circle  of  five  or  six  miles  compass; 
and  when  they  had  completed  the  first  round, 
they  retreated  inward,  each  at  his  due  distance, 
and  put  fire  to  the  leaves  and  grass  afresh,  to 
accelerate  the  work,  which  ought  to  be  finished 
with  the  day.  This  they  repeat,  till  the  circle 
be  so  contracted,  that  they  can  see  their  game 
herded  all  together  in  the  middle,  panting  and 
almost  stifled  with  heat  and  smoke;  for  the  poor 
creatures  being  frightened  at  the  flame,  keep 
running  continually  round,  thinking  to  run  from 
it,  and  dare  not  pass  through  the  fire,  by  which 
means  they  are  brought  at  last  into  a  very  narrow 
compass.  Then  the  Indians  let  fly  their  arrows 
at  them,  and  (which  is  very  strange)  though 
they  stand  all  round  quite  clouded  in  smoke, 
yet  they  rarely  shoot  each  other.  By  this  means 
they  destroy  all  the  beasts,  collected  within  that 
circle.  They  make  all  this  slaughter  only  for  the 
sake  of  the  skins,  leaving  the  carcasses  to  perish 
in  the  woods. 

"The  Indians  have  many  pretty  inventions, 
to  discover  and  come  up  to  the  deer,  turkeys  and 
other  game  undiscerned;  but  that  being  an  art, 
known  to  very  few  English  there,  I  will  not  be  so 
accessory'  to  the  destruction  of  their  game,  as  to 
make  it  public.  I  shall  therefore  only  tell  you, 
that  when  they  go  a-hunting  into  the  outlands,"* 

'  Aiding  and  abetting.  '  Remote  places. 


Fishing,  Hunting,  and  Agriculture  loi 

they  commonly  go  out  for  the  whole  season,  with 
their  wives  and  family.  At  the  place  where  they 
find  the  most  game,  they  build  up  a  convenient 
number  of  small  cabins,  wherein  they  live  during 
that  season.  These  cabins  are  both  begun,  and 
finished  in  two  or  three  days,  and  after  the  season 
is  over,  they  make  no  further  account  of  them. 

**This  and  a  great  deal  more  was  the  natural 
production  of  that  country,  which  the  native 
Indians  enjoyed,  without  the  curse  of  industry, 
their  diversion  alone,  and  not  their  labor,  supply- 
ing ^heir  necessities.  The  women  and  children 
indeed,  were  so  far  provident,  as  to  lay  up  some 
of  the  nuts,  and  fruits  of  the  earth,  in  their  season 
for  their  further  occasions :  but  none  of  the  toils  of 
husbandry  were  exercised  by  this  happy  people. 
Except  the  bare  planting  a  little  corn  and  melons, 
which  took  up  only  a  few  days  in  the  summer,  the 
rest  being  wholly  spent  in  the  pursuit  of  their 
pleasures.  And  indeed  all  that  the  English  have 
done,  since  their  going  thither,  has  been  only  to 
make  some  of  these  native  pleasures  more  scarce, 
by  an  inordinate  and  unseasonable  use  of  them: 
hardly  making  improvements  equivalent  to  that 
damage."' 

The  cultivation  of  the  soil  was  the  character- 
istic which  distinguished  the  Indians  of  this  part 
of  the  world  from  those  living  in  the  northwestern 
portion  of  the  continent,  and  which  is  the  reason 
that  they  are  classed  as  barbarous,  instead  of 

'  Beverley,  book  2,  pp.  38-40. 


102  The  Forest  Primeval 

savage,  the  latter  living  only  by  fishing  and 
hunting. 

The  early  records  abound  with  Incidents  which 
show  what  an  important  part  this  cultivation  of 
the  land  played  In  the  life  of  the  Indians  and  of 
the  first  settlers.  The  Indians  had  corn.  The 
settlers  needed  food.  There  was  trading  with 
the  Indians  for  their  corn  In  exchange  for 
European  commodities.  They  appear  to  have 
generally  had  enough  corn  for  themselves  and  a 
surplus  which  they  could  sell. 

The  White  and  De  Bry  pictures  represent  large 
cornfields  in  close  proximity  to  the  towns,  and 
also  tobacco,  pumpkins,  melons,  and  a  variety  of 
other  products. 

The  cultivation  of  these  articles  of  food  was 
a  part  of  the  work  which  custom  assigned  to  the 
women.  The  women  were  aided  in  the  work  by 
the  children.' 

The  men  fished,  hunted,  felled  trees,  made 
canoes,  bows  and  arrows,  and  fought  the  battles 
of  their  nation.  Such  work  as  attending  to  a 
cornfield  they  deemed  beneath  their  dignity. 

These  cultivated  tracts  were  called  by  the 
English,  in  later  times,  at  least,  "Indian  Old 
Fields."  They  were  very  numerous,  as  the 
villages  themselves  were,  and  were  regarded 
generally  as  very  fertile.  They  were  sometimes 
very  extensive,  Strachey  stating  that  at  Ke- 
cough-tan  (Hampton)  there  were  two  or  three 
thousand  acres  cleared. 

'  Strachey,  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  pp.  iii,  1 16-17. 


Fishing,  Hunting,  and  Agriculture  103 

So  important  was  this  cultivation  that  the 
English  found  one  of  the  most  effective  ways  of 
fighting  the  Indians  was  to  destroy  their  corn 
crops.  This  was  conspicuously  the  case  in  the 
war  with  the  Pa-mun-keys,  in  1624,  when,  after 
a  battle  lasting  two  days  against  eight  hundred 
Indian  warriors,  enough  corn  was  destroyed  to 
have  sustained  four  thousand  men  for  a  twelve- 
month. 

Their  system  of  planting  is  thus  presented  to 
us  by  Spelman: 

"They  make  most  commonly  a  place  about 
their  houses  to  set  their  corn,  which  if  there  be 
much  wood,  in  that  place  they  cut  down  the  great 
trees  some  half  a  yard  above  the  ground,  and  the 
smaller  they  burn  at  the  root,  pulling  a  good  part 
of  bark  from  them,  to  make  them  die,  and  in  this 
place  they  dig  many  holes  which  before  the 
English  brought  them  shovels  and  spades  they 
used  to  make  with  a  crooked  piece  of  wood  being 
scraped  on  both  sides  in  fashion  of  a  gardener's 
paring-iron.  They  put  into  these  holes  ordina- 
rily four  or  five  kernels  of  their  wheat  and  two 
beans  like  French  beans,  which,  when  the  wheat 
doth  grow  up,  having  a  straw  as  big  as  a  cane- 
reed,  the  beans  run  up  therein  like  our  hops  on 
poles.  The  ears  of  the  wheat'  are  of  great  bigness 
in  length  and  compass  and  yet  for  all  the  great- 
ness of  it  every  stalk  hath  most  commonly  some 
four  or  five  ears  on  it.  Their  corn  is  set  and 
gathered  about  the  time  we  use,"  but  their  man- 

'  Indian  corn.  »  Do  these  things. 


104  The  Forest  Primeval 

ner  of  their  gathering  is  as  we  do  our  apples,  first 
in  a  hand-basket,  emptying  them  as  they  are 
filled  into  other  bigger  baskets,  whereof  some  are 
made  of  the  barks  of  trees,  some  of  hemp,  which 
naturally  groweth  there,  and  some  of  the  straw 
whereon  the  wheat  groweth.  Now  after  the 
gathering,  they  lay  it  upon  mats  a  good  thickness 
in  the  sun  to  dry  and  every  night  they  make  a 
great  pile  of  it,  covering  it  over  with  mats  to 
defend  it  from  the  dew,  and  when  it  is  sufficiently 
weathered,  they  pile  it  up  in  their  houses  daily 
as  occasion  serveth,  wringing  the  ears  in  pieces' 
between  their  hands,  and  so  rubbing  out  their 
corn  do  put  it  into  a  great  basket  which  taketh 
up  the  best  part  of  some  of  their  houses,  and  all 
this  is  chiefly  the  womens'  work,  for  the  men  do 
hunt  to  get  skins  in  winter  and  do  tew^  or  dress 
them  in  summer. 

"But,  though  now  out  of  order,  yet  let  me  not 
altogether  forget  the  setting  of  the  King's  corn, 
for  which  a  day  is  appointed  wherein  great  part 
of  the  country  people  meet,  who,  with  such  dili- 
gence worketh,  as,  for  the  most  part,  all  the  King's 
corn  is  set  on  a  day;  after  which  setting  the  King 
takes  the  crown  which  the  King  of  England  sent 
him,^  being  brought  him  by  two  men,  and  sets  it 
on  his  head,  which  done  the  people  goeth  about 
the  corn  in  manner  backwards,  for  they  going 
before,  and  the  King  following,  their  faces  are 

'  Shelling  the  com. 

» To  make  hides  into  leather  by  soaking  them  after  cleaning,  etc. 

3  The  copper  crown  sent  over  to  Powhatan  by  King  James  I. 


Fishing,  Hunting,  and  Agriculture  105 

always  toward  the  King,  expecting  when  he 
should  fling  some  beads  among  them,  which  his 
custom  is  at  that  time  to  do,  making  those  which 
had  wrought,  to  scramble  for  them.  But  to 
some  he  favors,  he  bids  those  that  carry  his 
beads  to  call  such  and  such  unto  him,  unto  whom 
he  giveth  beads  into  their  hands,  and  this  is  the 
greatest  courtesy  he  doth  his  people.  When  his 
corn  is  ripe,  the  country  people  come  to  him 
again  and  gather,  dry  and  rub  out  all  his  corn 
for  him,  which  is  laid  in  houses  appointed  for 
that  purpose."' 

Tobacco,  "the  Indians'  revenge  upon  the 
White  Man,"  as  it  has  been  well  called,  is  thus 
described  by  Hariot.  It  is  interesting  to  read 
the  estimation  in  which  this  weed  was  held,  and 
the  various  virtues  attributed  to  it,  virtues, 
which  three  hundred  years  of  use,  have  abund- 
antly proved  never  existed. 

"There  is  an  herb  which  is  sowed  apart  by 
itself,  and  is  called  by  the  inhabitants  up-po-woc: 
in  the  West  Indies  it  hath  divers  names,  accord- 
ing to  the  several  places  and  countries  where  it 
groweth  and  is  used:  the  Spaniards  general!}^  call 
it  tobacco.  The  leaves  thereof  being  dried  and 
brought  into  powder,  they  used  to  take  the  fume 
or  smoke  thereof,  by  sucking  it  through  pipes 
made  of  clay.  Into  their  stomach  and  head:  from 
whence  It  purgeth  superflous  phlegm  and  other 
gross  humors,   and  openeth   all   the  pores   and 

'  Spelman's  Relation  of  Virginia,  pp.  47-50. 


io6  The  Forest  Primeval 

passages  of  the  body;  by  which  means  the  use 
thereof  not  only  preserveth  the  body  from  ob- 
structions, but  also  (if  any  be,  so  that  they  have 
not  been  of  too  long  continuance)  in  short  time 
breaketh  them:  whereby  their  bodies  are  notably 
preserved  in  health,  and  know  not  many  grievous 
diseases,  wherewithal  we  in  England  are  often 
times  afflicted. 

"We  ourselves,  during  the  time  we  were  there, 
used  to  suck  it  after  their  manner,  as  also  since 
our  return,  and  have  found  many  rare  and 
wonderful  experiments  of  the  virtues  thereof: 
of  which  the  relation  would  require  a  volume 
by  itself:  the  use  of  it  by  so  many  of  late,  men 
and  women  of  great  calling,  as  else,'  and 
some  learned  physicians  also,  is  sufficient 
witness."^ 

The  Indians'  method  of  cultivating  this 
plant  so  highly  valued,  is  thus  described  by 
Glover: 

"In  the  Twelve  days^  they  begin  to  sow  their 
seed  in  beds  of  fine  mould,  and  when  the  plants 
be  grown  to  the  breadth  of  a  shilling,  they  are  fit 
to  replant  into  the  hills;  for  In  their  plantations 
they  make  small  hills  about  four  feet  distant  from 
each  other,  som.ewhat  after  the  manner  of  our 
hop-yards.  These  hills  being  prepared  against 
the  plants  be  grown  to  the  forementioned  bigness 

'  Else,  meaning  besides  these  great  personages,  persons  of  lesser 
station. 

^  Hakluyt,  vol.  ii.,  p.  339. 

3  The  Epiphany  season,  the  twelfth  day  after  Christmas,  January, 
6th. 


Fishing,  Hunting,  and  Agriculture  107 

(which  is  about  the  beginning  of  May)  they  then 
in  moist  weather  draw  the  plants  out  of  their 
beds,  and  replant  them  in  the  hills,  which  after- 
wards they  keep  with  diligent  weedings.  When 
the  plant  hath  put  out  so  many  leaves  as  the 
ground  will  nourish  to  a  substance  and  largeness 
that  will  render  them  merchantable,  then  they 
take  off  the  top  of  the  .plant;  if  the  ground  be  very 
rich,  they  let  a  plant  put  out  a  dozen  or  sixteen 
leaves  before  they  top  it;  if  mean,'  then  not  above 
nine  or  ten,  and  so  according  to  the  strength  of 
their  soil,  the  top  being  taken  if  the  plant  grows 
no  higher;  but  afterwards  it  will  put  out  suckers 
between  their  leaves,  which  they  pluck  away 
once  a  week,  till  the  plant  comes  to  perfection, 
which  it  doth  in  August.  Then  in  dry  weather, 
when  there  is  a  little  breeze  of  wind,  they  cut 
down  what  is  ripe,  letting  it  lie  about  four  hours 
on  the  ground,  till  such  time  as  the  leaves,  that 
stood  strutting  out,  fall  down  to  the  stalk,  then 
they  carry  it  on  their  shoulders  into  their  to- 
bacco-houses, where  other  servants  taking  of  it, 
drive  into  the  stalk  of  each  plant  a  peg,  and  as 
fast  as  they  are  pegged,  they  hang  them  up  by  the 
pegs  on  tobacco-sticks,  so  nigh  each  other  that 
they  just  touch,  much  after  the  manner  they 
hang  herrings  in  Yarmouth.  Thus  they  let  them 
hang  five  or  six  weeks,  till  such  time  as  the  stem 
in  the  middle  of  the  leaf  will  snap  in  the  bending 
of  It.  Then,  when  the  air  hath  so  moistened  the 
leaf  as  that  it  may  be  handled  without  breaking, 

•  Average. 


io8  The  Forest  Primeval 

they  strike  it  down,  strip  it  off  the  stalk,  bind  it 
up  in  bundles,  and  pack  it  into  hogsheads  for  use. 
"Sometimes  they  are  forced  to  plant  their 
hills  twice  or  thrice  over,  by  reason  of  an  earth- 
worm which  eats  the  root,  and  when  the  plant  is 
well  grown  they  suffer  damage  by  a  worm  that 
devours  the  leaf,  called  a  horn-worm  (an  Eruca 
or  Caterpillar)  which  is  bred  upon  the  leaf;  if 
these  worms  be  not  carefully  taken  off,  they  will 
spoil  the  whole  crop."' 

'  Account  of  Virginia,  pp.  28-30. 


CHAPTER  VII 

CANOE-,  ARROW-,  AND  POTTERY-MAKING 

IN  describing  the  handicrafts  of  the  Indians, 
Beverley  says : 
"They  rubbed  fire  out  of  particular  sorts  of 
wood  (as  the  ancients  did  out  of  the  ivy  and  bays) 
by  turning  the  end  of  a  hard  piece  upon  the  side 
of  a  piece  that  is  soft  and  dry,  like  a  spindle  on  its 
inke,'  by  which  it  heats,  and  at  length  burns,  to 
this  they  put  sometimes  also  rotten  wood,  and 
dry  leaves  to  hasten  the  work. 

"Under  the  disadvantage  of  such  tools,  they 
made  a  shift  to  fell  vast,  great  trees,  and  clear  the 
land  of  wood,  in  places  where  they  had  occasion. 

"They  bring  down  a  great  tree  by  making  a 
small  fire  round  the  root,  and  keeping  the  flame 
from  running  upward,  until  they  burn  away  so 
much  of  the  base,  that  the  least  puff  of  wind 
throws  it  down.  When  it  is  prostrate,  they  burn 
it  off  to  what  length  they  would  have  it,  and 
with  their  stone  tomahawks  break  off  all  the  bark, 
which  when  the  sap  runs,  will  easily  strip,  and 
at  other  times  also,  if  it  be  well  warmed  with 
fire.  When  it  is  brought  to  a  due  length,  they 
raise  it  upon  a  bed  to  a  convenient  height  for 

'  The  socket  of  a  mill-spindle. 

109 


no  The  Forest  Primeval 

their  working,  and  they  begin  by  gentle  fires 
to  hollow  it,  and  with  scrapers  rake  the  trunk, 
and  turn  away  the  fire  from  one  place  to  another, 
till  they  have  deepened  the  belly  of  it  to  their 
desire.  Thus  also  they  shape  the  ends,  till  they 
have  made  it  a  fit  vessel  for  crossing  the  water, 
and  this  they  call  a  canoe,  one  of  which  I  have 
seen  thirty  feet  long. 

"When  they  wanted  any  land  to  be  cleared  of 
the  woods,  they  chopped  a  notch  round  the  trees 
quite  through  the  bark  with  their  stone  hatchets, 
or  tomahawks,  and  that  deadened  the  trees,  so 
that  they  sprouted  no  more,  but  in  a  few  years 
fell  down.  However,  the  ground  was  plantable, 
and  would  produce  immediately  upon  the  wither- 
ing of  the  trees:  but  now  for  all  these  uses  they 
employ  axes,  and  little  hatchets,  which  they  buy 
of  the  English.  The  occasions  aforementioned, 
and  the  building  of  their  cabins,  are  still  the 
greatest  use  they  have  for  these  utensils,  because 
they  trouble  not  themselves  with  any  other  sort 
of  handicraft,  to  which  such  tools  are  necessary. 

"Their  household  utensils  are  baskets,  made 
of  silk-grass;  gourds,  which  grow  to  the  shapes 
they  desire  them;  and  earthen  pots,  to  boil 
victuals  in,  which  they  make  of  clay."' 

In  the  account  of  Master  Barlow  of  the  first 
voyage  to  Virginia,  made  for  Sir  Walter  Raleigh, 
in  1584,  he  tells  us  how  they  made  their  canoes. 
He  says: 

"Their  boats  were  made  of  one  tree,  either  of 

»  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  60-2. 


Canoe-,  Arrow-,  and   Pottery-Making    iii 

pine,  or  of  pitch-trees,  a  wood  not  commonly 
known  to  our  people,  nor  found  growing  in  Eng- 
land. They  have  no  edge-tools  to  make  them 
withal,  if  they  have  any  they  are  very  few,  and 
those  it  seems  they  had  twenty  years  since, 
which,  as  those  two  men'  declared,  was  out  of  a 
wreck,  which  happened  upon  their  coast  of  some 
Christian  ship,  being  beaten  that  wa}^  by  some 
storm  and  outrageous  weather,  whereof  none  of 
the  people  were  saved;  but  only  one  ship,  or 
some  part  of  her  being  cast  upon  the  land,  out  of 
whose  sides  they  drew  the  nails  and  the  spikes, 
and  with  those  they  made  their  best  instruments. 
The  manner  of  making  their  boats  is  thus;  they 
burn  down  some  great  tree,  or  take  such  as  are 
wind-fallen,  and  putting  gum  and  rosin  upon  one 
side  thereof,  they  set  fire  into  it,  and  when  it  has 
burnt  it  hollow,  they  cut  out  the  coal  with  their 
shells,  and  ever  where  they  would  burn  it  deeper 
or  wider  they  lay  on  gums,  which  burn  away  the 
timber,  and  by  this  means  they  fashion  very  fine 
boats,  and  such  as  will  transport  twenty  men. 
Their  oars  are  like  scoops,  and  many  times  they 
set^  with  long  poles  as  the  depth  serves."^ 

"Their  fire  they  kindle  presently  by  chafing 
a  dry  pointed  stick  in  a  hole  of  a  little  square 
piece  of  wood,  that  firing  Itself,  will  so  fire  the 
moss,  leaves,  or  any  such  like  dry  thing,  that  will 
quickly  burn."^ 

'Two  Indians,  Man-te-o  and  Wan-che-se,  whom  Barlow  took 
back  with  him  to  England. 

^  Propel  the  canoe  by  pushing  against  the  bottom  of  the  stream. 
3  Hakluyt's  Voyages,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  282  et  seq.     ■»  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  131. 


112  The  Forest  Primeval 

"Before  I  finish  my  account  of  the  Indians, 
It  will  not  be  amiss  to  Inform  you,  that  when  the 
English  went  first  among  them,  they  had  no  sort 
of  Iron  or  steel  Instruments:  but  their  knives 
were  either  sharpened  reeds,  or  shells,  and  their 
axes  sharp  stones  bound  to  the  end  of  a  stick,  and 
glued  In  with  turpentine.  By  the  help  of  these, 
they  made  their  bows  of  the  locust  tree,  an  exces- 
sive hard  wood  when  It  Is  dry,  but  much  more 
easily  cut  when  It  Is  green,  of  which  they  always 
took  the  advantage.'  They  made  their  arrows 
of  reeds  or  small  wands,  which  needed  no  other 
cutting,  but  In  the  length,  being  otherwise  ready 
for  notching,  feathering  and  heading.  They 
fledged. their  arrows  with  turkey-feathers,  which 
they  fastened  with  glue  made  of  the  velvet 
horns  of  a  deer,  but  It  has  not  that  quality  it's 
said  to  have,  of  holding  against  all  weathers. 
They  armed  the  heads  with  a  white  transparent 
stone,  like  that  of  Mexico  mentioned  by  Peter 
Martyr,  of  which  they  have  many  rocks;  they 
also  headed  them  with  the  spurs  of  the  wild 
turkey  cock."^ 

Strachey  says  that  they  also  made  their  bows 
out  of  "weech, "  that  Is,  the  witch-hazel;  and 
their  shields  were  made  of  the  bark  of  trees, 
thick  enough  to  keep  out  an  arrow.  Their  use 
was  not  universal.^ 

The  following  excellently  expressed  remarks 


'  That  is,  cut  it  when  it  was  green. 

2  Beverley,  book  3,  p.  60. 

3  Historic  oj  Travaile  into  Virginia,  pp.  105-6. 


Paleolithic  Implements  from  the  District  of  Columbia 

From  the   American  Anthropologisl,  Vol.   2,   p.   238 


Canoe-,  Arrow-,  and  Pottery-Making     113 

on  the  stone  implements  which  have  been  found 
in  Denmark  apply  equally  to  those  found  in 
Virginia,  and  well  deserve  to  be  reproduced: 

"It  must  excite  our  astonishment  that  any 
uncivilized  people  should  be  capable  of  producing 
such  well-finished  instruments  of  stone.  The 
arrow-heads"  frequently  found  "are  so  admir- 
ably formed,  that  at  the  present  day,  with  all 
the  advantage  of  our  modern  tools  of  metal,  we 
could  scarcely  equal,  certainly  could  not  surpass 
them;  and  yet  it  is  supposed  the  use  of  metals 
was  not  understood.  We  can  easily  see  and 
understand  how  the  arrow-head  or  axe  was  first 
formed  and  afterwards  polished;  for  indeed  in 
several  instances  the  very  whetstones  have  been 
found  near  such  stone  implements;  we  are  also 
able  to  prove  that  the  greater  part  of  the  arrow- 
heads are  formed  of  flints,  which  the  makers  knew 
how  to  split  out  of  large  masses  of  that  stone. 
But  the  manner  in  which  they  contrived  by  means 
of  a  stone,  so  to  split  the  flint,  and  that  too,  into 
such  long  and  slender  pieces,  is  still  a  mystery 
to  us;  for  from  those  uncivilized  nations  which 
still  make  use  of  stone  implements  no  satis- 
factory information  has  yet  been  obtained  as 
to  the  mode  in  which  they  manufacture  them. 
Some  have  been  of  opinion  that  the  aborigines 
endeavored  to  prevent  the  splitting  of  the  stone 
by  boiling  It,  or  by  keeping  it  under  water  while 
they  fashioned  it  into  the  desired  form.  Others, 
on  the  contrary,  have  maintained,  that  such 
stone  Implements  could  not  possibly  have  been 


114  The  Forest  Primeval 

so  well  formed  by  means  of  a  stone,  but  must 
have  been  the  work  of  those  who  were  possessed 
of  the  necessary  metal.  Probably  the  truth  lies 
between  these  two  opinions,  namely,  in  the  sup- 
position, that  in  the  earliest  times,  when  the 
use  of  metals  was  unknown,  the  stone  imple- 
ments were  of  the  very  simplest  make,  but  that 
at  a  later  period,  when  some  had  attained  to  the 
use  of  metals,  they  assumed  a  more  perfect  and 
handsome  form.  For  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  use  of  instruments  of  stone  unquestion- 
ably extended  over  a  very  long  period. 

"Lastly,  we  must  not  lose  sight  of  this  fact, 
that  the  weapons  and  instruments  of  stone  which 
are  found  in  the  north,  in  Japan,  in  America, 
the  South  Sea  Islands  and  elsewhere,  have  for  the 
most  part  such  an  extraordinary  resemblance 
to  one  another  in  point  of  form,  that  one  might 
almost  suppose  the  whole  of  them  to  have  been 
the  production  of  the  same  maker.  The  reason 
of  this  is  very  obvious,  namely,  that  their  form 
is  that  which  first  and  most  naturally  suggests 
itself  to  the  human  mind."' 

The  location  of  some  of  the  aboriginal  work- 
shops of  the  men  of  the  Stone  Age  have  been 
definitely  fixed.  One  of  these  is  in  the  District 
of  Columbia,  on  the  north  bank  of  Piney  Branch, 
near  its  confluence  with  Rock  Creek,  just  below 
the  Fourteenth  Street  bridge.  An  account  of 
this  is  given  by  Mr.  S.  V.  Proudfit: 

"  From  the  bed  of  the  creek  to  the  brow  of  the 

'  The  Primeval  Antiquities  of  Denmark  by  Worsaae,  pp.  22-3. 


Plate  II 
Paleolithic  Implements  from  the  District  of  Columbia 

From  the   American  Anlhropologisl,   Vol.   2,  p.   238 


Canoe-,  Arrow-,  and  Pottery-Making     115 

hill,  and  for  some  distance  back,  the  ground  is 
littered,  and  in  many  places  covered  to  the  depth 
of  several  inches,  with  chipped  stones,  chips,  and 
flakes.  Man}'  of  the  stones  show  but  slight 
marks  of  chipping,  a  few  pieces  having  been 
struck  off  without  materially  modifying  the 
original  form.  Others,  however,  and  they  may 
be  numbered  by  the  thousand,  have  been  worked 
into  definite  form.  The  material  used  was  the 
quartzite  pebble,  which  composes  to  a  large 
extent  the  gravel  beds  of  the  hill.  The  forms 
vary  from  that  of  the  split  pebble,  with  the  outer 
face  worked  at  the  edges,  leaving  the  center  with 
its  original  surface  untouched  (see  c,  Plate  III, 
and  a,  Plate  IV),  to  that  of  the  almond  shape, 
chipped  on  both  sides  (see  b,  Plate  IV).  While 
these  ruder  forms  constitute  for  the  greater  part 
the  mass  of  the  remains,  thin  knife-shaped  imple- 
ments of  the  same  material  are  also  found  (see 
c,  Plate  IV).  Most  of  these  are  broken,  but 
perfect  specimens  occur  frequently.  While  an 
occasional  arrow-head  has  been  found,  not  a 
scrap  of  potter}^  or  other  indication  of  residence 
marks  the  place. 

"On  the  level  ground  at  the  top  of  the  hill, 
the  earth  in  places  is  covered  with  small  chips  and 
flakes,  and  mingled  with  them  the  butts  and  tips 
of  broken  knives.  The  comparative  absence 
of  rough  material,  large  chips,  and  rude  forms, 
noted  on  the  hillside  below,  and  the  presence  of 
small  chips  and  finished  forms,  are  at  once  ap- 
parent, and  are  not  without  suggestion  as  to  the 


ii6  The  Forest  Primeval 

relative  character  of  the  work  prosecuted  in  each 
place. 

"The  area  covered  by  this  workshop,  embrac- 
ing several  acres  in  extent,  is  not  confined  to  the 
north  side  of  the  branch,  but  includes  both  sides, 
as  well  as  the  very  bed  of  the  stream.  The 
greater  part  of  the  work,  however,  was  done  on 
the  north  side,  and  any  attempt  to  state  its 
amount  would  hardly  be  received  with  credence 
by  one  who  has  not  visited  the  place  and  made  it 
a  study. 

"Similar  workshops,  though  less  in  extent,  are 
found  in  several  places  on  Rock  Creek  below 
Piney  Branch.  In  some  instances  these  places 
cover  but  a  few  square  yards;  in  others  the  work 
is  scattered  over  the  hillsides  in  profusion. 

"My  own  conclusion  as  to  the  relics  found  at 
these  points  is  that  they  are  the  resultant  debris 
of  Indian  workshops,  where  material  was  roughly 
blocked  out,  to  be  afterward  fashioned  into 
knives,  spearheads,  etc. ;  and  that  no  good  reason 
is  yet  apparent  for  attributing  their  origin  to 
paleolithic  man.' 

"Among  the  remains  found  on  the  village  sites 
fragments  of  soapstone  vessels  and  other  forms 
of  the  same  material  frequently  occur,  and  in 
sufficient  quantity  to  establish  the  fact  that  the 
value  of  soapstone  for  vessels  and  other  articles 
of  domestic  use  had  received  substantial  recogni- 
tion..   The  material  is  found  in  many  places  in 

'  That  is,  to  a  race  antedating  the  Indians  of  the  period  of  the 
Conquest. 


Plate  III 
Rude  Chipped  Implements  from  the  District  of  Columbia 

From   the   American   Anthropologist,   Vol.   2,   p.    242 


Canoe-,  Arrow-,  and  Pottery-Making     117 

the  Potomac  valley,  and  several  aboriginal 
quarries  have  been  located  within  the  limits  of 
the  District.  The  most  notable  of  these  is  the 
Rose  Hill  quarry,  about  three  miles  north  of  the 
city  and  near  Tenleytown,  a  full  account  of 
which  was  furnished  by  Doctor  Reynolds, in  the 
13th  Annual  Report  of  the  Peabody  Museum. 
An  examination  of  the  place  shows  extensive 
workings,  prosecuted  intelligently  and  with 
considerable  success.  Pits  and  trenches,  now 
filled  with  trees  and  underbrush,  mark  the  hill- 
side on  every  hand,  and  rough  fragments  of 
broken  and  unfinished  vessels  are  scattered  about 
half  buried  in  the  forest  soil  that  has  accumulated 
since  the  abandonment  of  the  quarry.  The 
comparative  absence  of  fragments  would  seem  to 
indicate  that  the  process  of  manufacture  at  this 
place  was  not  carried  farther  than  to  reduce  the 
original  block  to  a  vessel  convenient  In  size  and 
weight  for  transportation. 

"At  a  point  one  mile  below  Falls  Church, 
Virginia,  on  the  old  Febrey  estate,  I  found  a 
small  but  interesting  soapstone  workshop.  It 
is  located  on  a  hillside  overlooking  Four-Mile 
Run  and  about  one-fourth  of  a  mile  below  a 
recently  worked  soapstone  quarry.  Large  pieces 
of  the  unworked  stone  and  fragments  of 
unfinished  vessels  covered  the  ground,  which 
occupies  an  area  of  not  more  than  half  an  acre  in 
extent.  No  perfect  vessels  were  found,  and  the 
best  specimen  obtained  was  a  small  core  worked 
out  from  the  interior  of  a  vessel  in  the  process 


ii8  The  F^orest  Primeval 

of  its  construction.  Several  quartz  implements 
suited  for  working  the  stone  were  found  mingled 
with  the  debris.  The  amount  of  material  on  the 
ground  was  comparatively  small,  when  compared 
with  that  at  the  Rose  Hill  quarry,  and  probably 
it  had  been  carried  from  the  quarry  above, 
where  the  recent  operations  have  obliterated 
all  traces  of  ancient  mining,  if  any  existed. 
Careful  and  repeated  research  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  this  quarry  only  resulted  in  the 
discovery  of  a  few  pieces  of  unfinished  vessels 
— enough,  perhaps,  to  justify  the  conclusion 
that  this  quarry  furnished  the  material  used 
at  the  workshop. 

"Taking  the  evidence  of  the  fields  of  to-day, 
we  are  enabled  to  supplement,  in  some  degree, 
the  brief  historic  account  of  the  early  people  of 
the  Potomac.  Where  recorded  observation  has 
fallen  short  the  archaeologist  may  thus  take  up 
the  study  of  this  primitive  period  in  the  less 
imperishable,  though  unwritten,  record  left  by 
this  vanished  people. 

"Having  identified  a  camp  site  by  means  of 
historical  evidence,  it  is  eas}^,  by  a  study  of  its 
character,  to  determine  the  location  of  others  of 
equal  importance,  though  not  mentioned  by  the 
historian,  especially  where  the  remains  are  so 
abundant  and  distinctive  in  character  as  they 
are  in  this  region.  By  adding  the  deductions 
to  be  drawn  from  the  comparative  study  of  the 
archaeologic  material  to  the  historic  facts  we 
may  determine    the    status   and   rank   of    this 


Plate  IV 
Rude  Chipped  Implements  from  the  District  of  Columbia 

From  the   American  Anthropologist,  Vol.   2,  p.   244 


Canoe-,  Arrow-,  and  Pottery-Making     119 

people  among  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  North 
America."^ 

The  following  interesting  account  of  the  pot- 
tery of  the  Potomac,  tide-water  region,  is  given 
by  Mr.  W.  H.  Holmes: 

"The  manufacture  of  earthenware  was  one  of 
the  few  simple  arts  practiced  by  the  primitive 
inhabitants  of  the  Potomac,  tide-water  region. 
Clay  was  employed  chiefly  in  the  construction  of 
vessels  for  domestic  purposes,  and  fragments  of 
the  fragile  utensils  were  left  upon  camp  sites 
or  built  into  the  gradually  accumulating  masses 
of  kitchen  refuse.  These  sherds  constitute  the 
chief  record  upon  which  we  rely  for  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  art. 

"Meagre  references  to  the  use  of  earthen  ves- 
sels by  the  natives  are  found  in  the  vv'ritings  of 
the  first  colonists,  and  it  is  known  that  feeble 
remnants  of  the  Virginia  Indians  have  con- 
tinued to  practice  the  art  even  down  to  our  own 
time. 

"It  is  difficult  to  say  whether  or  not  pottery 
was  universally  employed  by  the  tribes  who  dwelt 
upon  or  who  from  time  to  time  visited  our  shores, 
for  its  durability  varies  greatly,  and  the  village 
sites  that  now  furnish  us  no  specimens  whatever 
may  in  former  times  have  been  well  supplied. 

"It  may  further  be  noted  that  the  duration  of 
the  practice  of  art  cannot  be  definitely  deter- 
mined; for,  although  fragments  may  be  found 
from  base  to  summit  of  shell-heaps  and  mounds 

'  The  American  Anthropologist,  vol.  xi.,  pp.  244-6. 


I20  The  F^orest  Primeval 

that  must  have  been  hundreds  of  years  building 
or  accumulating,  we  cannot  as  yet  say  that  a 
long  paleolithic  epoch  of  occupation  did  not 
pass  entirely  without  pottery. 

"Whole  vessels  are  rarely  found,  and  such  as 
we  have  are  recovered  from  graves  where  they 
were  deposited  with  especial  care  and  at  consider- 
able depth.  From  camp  or  village  sites  and 
from  all  artificial  deposits  and  accumulations 
where  they  are  mere  refuse  they  are  recovered  in 
a  fragmentary  state  and  in  pieces  so  small  and  so 
entirely  disassociated  that  full  restorations  are 
exceedingly  difficult. 

"There  is  enough,  however,  to  give  a  pretty 
clear  idea  of  the  scope  of  the  art  and  of  the 
character  of  its  products — enough,  it  may  be 
added,  to  enable  us  to  form  a  definite  notion  of 
the  culture  status  of  the  pre-Columbian  peoples 
as  VncII  as  to  throw  considerable  light  upon  their 
ethnic  affinities. 

"The  localities  represented  are  quite  numer- 
ous and  very  generally  distributed  along  the 
shores  of  rivers  and  bays. 

"The  clay  employed  is  of  varying  degrees  of 
purity  and  is  tempered  with  divers  ingredients. 
These  ingredients  have  varied  with  tribes  and 
with  localities;  they  comprise  all  grades  and 
varieties  of  sand  and  artificially  pulverized  rock, 
such  as  quartz,  schist,  steatite,  etc.  Pounded 
shell  was  extensively  employed,  but  the  frag- 
ments of  this  substance  have  in  many  cases 
decayed  and  dropped  out,  and  are  represented 


Types  of  foim,  pottery  of  tlie   Potomac  Valley. 


a 


Plate  V 
Examples  of  Fabrics  Impressed  upon  Pottery  of  the  Potomac  Valley 

From  the   American   Antliropolot;isl,   Vol.   2,   p.   250 


Canoe-,  Arrow-,  and  Pottery-Making     121 

by  the  Irregular  pits  which  now  characterize 
many  of  the  sherds. 

"The  percentage  of  these  Ingredients  Is  often 
surprisingly  great,  as  they  constitute  one-half 
or  even,  In  cases,  three-fourths  of  the  mass. 

"Upon  what  theory  these  tempering  substances 
were  added  to  the  clay  we  are  unable  positively 
to  determine.  We  conjecture  that  strength, 
porosity,  resistance  to  heat,  etc.,  were  qualities 
especially  sought,  but  we  cannot  say  that  super- 
stition did  not  have  something  to  do  with  It. 
The  potter  may  have  believed  that  the  clay  at 
hand,  unmixed  with  Ingredients  from  particular 
localities  or  of  certain  kinds,  would  subject  the 
utensils  made  from  It  to  the  Influence  of  malig- 
nant spirits,  or  from  a  vision  or  dream  he  may 
have  learned  that  a  vessel  not  containing  a 
proper  amount  of  shell  material  would  never  be 
well  filled  with  chowder  or  with  terrapin. 

"Of  the  preparation  of  the  clay  we  can  say 
nothing,  save  through  our  knowledge  of  modern 
practices,  but  the  relics  give  us  many  clues  as 
to  the  methods  of  building  and  finishing  the 
ware.  Systematic  colling  was  not  practiced, 
but  the  walls  were  In  cases  built  up  by  means  of 
more  or  less  narrow  bands  of  clay,  which  were 
pressed  together  and  smoothed  down  by  the 
fingers  or  a  suitable  tool.  In  many  cases  the 
vases  break  along  the  junction  lines  of  the  orig- 
inal bands. 

"To  what  extent  molds  such  as  baskets, 
gourds,  and  the  like  were  used  we  cannot  clearly 


122  The  Forest  Primeval 

determine,  but  that  they  were  used  is  pretty- 
certain.  Exterior  impressions  of  basket-Uke 
textures  are  not  uncommon.  The  surfaces  were, 
to  a  Hmited  extent,  shaped  and  finished  by  the 
use  of  improvised  paddles. 

"The  shapes  of  this  pottery  do  not  show  a 
very  wide  range  of  variation,  for  the  stamp  of  the 
preceramic'  originals  are  still  upon  them,  and 
the  differentiation  of  use  and  office  had  not  yet 
gone  so  far  in  modification  and  multiplication  of 
forms  as  it  had  with  the  wares  of  the  more 
advanced  races  of  the  West  and  South.  The 
pot,  with  all  that  the  name  implies,  was  still  the 
leading  idea,  and  now  furnishes  the  type  of  form. 
Its  outline  varies  from  a  deep  bowl,  through 
many  degrees  of  rim  and  neck  constriction  and 
expansion,  to  a  rather  wide-mouthed,  sub-bottle 
shape.  There  is,  however,  no  end  of  variation 
in  detail  within  this  narrow  range  of  general 
conformation.  Rims  are  scalloped,  thickened, 
incurved,  recurved,  and  otherwise  modified. 
Necks  are  straight  and  upright,  swelled  out  or 
gently  or  sharply  constricted.  Bodies  are  globu- 
lar or  oblong,  and  are  rounded  or  pointed  below. 
Illustrations  of  typical  forms  are  given  a,  b,  c, 
and  d,  Plate  V.  Handles,  legs,  knobs,  and 
projecting  ornaments  are  rarely  met  with. 

"A  few  pipes  and  some  round,  perforated 
pellets — perhaps  beads — are  the  only  additional 
forms  that  I  have  seen. 

"The  size  is  generally  medium,  the   capacity 

'  Prior  to  the  development  of  the  art  of  pottery. 


Canoe-,  Arrow-,  and  Pottery-Making     123 

being  a  gallon,  more  or  less;  but  minute  forms, 
as  well  as  very  large  ones,  are  not  uncommon. 

"Use  was  chiefly  domestic  and  generally  cul- 
inary, as  the  sooty  surfaces  and  blackened  paste 
clearly  indicate;  but  the  vessels  were  not  in- 
frequently diverted  to  sacred  and  ceremonial 
uses,  as  we  know  from  historic  evidence.  It 
is  instructive  to  note,  however,  that  such 
special  functions  had  apparently  not  yet,  as 
in  the  West  and  South,  given  rise  to  especial 
forms. 

"Surface  finish  was  necessarily  not  of  a  very 
refined  kind.  The  fingers  or  a  polishing  tool 
sparingly  used  gave  all  necessary  evenness  of 
surface.  In  many  cases  fabric  impressions,  ac- 
quired in  construction  or  afterwards  applied 
for  effect,  cover  the  entire  exterior  surface. 
Often  these  markings  were  afterwards  smoothed 
down  and  nearly  or  quite  obliterated,  indicating 
that  they  had  no  important  aesthetic  office. 
Other  similar  impressions  from  fabrics  or  fabric- 
covered  paddles  were  afterwards  applied,  very 
certainly  on  account  of  some  aesthetic  or  super- 
stitious oflice. 

"Much  of  the  ware  is  decorated  in  simple  but 
effective  ways.  We  cannot  draw  a  very  definite 
line  between  those  features  that  exist  through 
accidents  of  manufacture  and  those  having 
aesthetic  or  mixed  aesthetic  and  ideographic"^ 
office;   but   it   is   suflficient   for  our   purpose   to 

'  Representing  ideas  directly,  and  not  through  the  medium  of  their 
names,  as  in  hieroglyphic  writing,  etc. 


124  The  Forest  Primeval 

classify  all  patterns  that  show  evidence  of 
design  as  ornament.  The  decorations  are  con- 
fined to  the  neck  and  rim  of  the  vessel.  They 
were  impressed  by  means  of  numerous  impro- 
vised stamps  or  were  executed  with  the  fin- 
gers or  a  pointed  implement.  The  most  usual 
method  was  by  the  employment  of  bits  of  hard- 
twisted  or  neatly-wrapped  cords  or  thongs. 
If  a  series  of  short  indentations  was  desired  the 
cord  was  doubled  between  the  thumb  and  finger 
or  laid  across  the  end  of  the  finger  and  pressed 
sharply  into  the  clay.  Longer  lines  were  made 
by  laying  the  cord  singly  upon  the  clay  and  run- 
ning the  finger  along  it  for  the  length  of  the 
desired  impression.  This  was  repeated  until 
the  pattern  was  finished. 

'*As  a  rule,  the  figures  were  undoubtedly  sug- 
gested by  textile  combinations,  and  in  many 
cases  served  simply  to  emphasize  or  carry  out 
more  fully  the  markings  received  from  the  basket 
or  net-mold  employed  in  construction.  Similar 
efi^ects  were  secured  by  incising,  trailing,  or 
puncturing  with  a  pointed  tool. 

"It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  tattoo 
marks  upon  the  *  foreheads,  cheeks,  chynne, 
armes,  and  leggs'  of  the  'chief  ladyes*  of  the 
Chesapeake,'  as  shown  in  John  White's  illustra- 
tions of  the  Roanoke  expedition,  are  identical 
with  the  figures  upon  the  pottery  now  exhumed 
from   our  shell-heaps. 

"It  happens  that  a  study  of  the  textile  art  of 

'  Should  be  the  town  of  Se-co-ta. 


Canoe-,  Arrow-,  and  Pottery-Making     125 

the  Chesapeake  tribes  becomes  a  natural  appen- 
dix to  that  of  the  fictile  art. 

"From  historic  sources  we  know  that  the 
Virginia  Indians  produced  a  variety  of  textile 
articles,  wattled'  structures  for  shelter  and  for 
trapping  fish,  mats  for  coverings,  hangings,  and 
carpetings,  nets  for  fishing,  besides  baskets, 
nets,  and  pouches  for  various  ordinary  uses. 

"From  impressions  upon  pottery  we  get 
additional  evidence  upon  the  subject — much 
more  indeed  upon  the  technique  of  the  art  than 
can  ever  be  known  from  any  other  source. 
Casts  in  clay  from  the  potsherds  give  us  numer- 
ous restorations  of  the  construction  of  such 
cloths,  nets,  and  baskets  as  happened  to  be  as- 
sociated with  the  potter's  art.  Four  examples 
are  presented  in  Plate  V.^ 

"That  all  are  aboriginal  in  origin  cannot  be 
proved,  but  there  is  nothing  in  them  that  seems 
out  of  harmony  Vv  ith  the  known  art-status  of  the 
Indian  tribes.  The  presence  of  nets  identical 
with  the  fish  nets  of  the  European  affords  the 
only  reason  for  making  the  query. 

"The  condition  of  the  aesthetic  idea  among  our 
predecessors  must  receive  a  moment's  attention. 

"The  shapes  of  the  earthen  vessels  are  in  a 
great  measure  inherited  from  basketry,  but  they 
are  conditioned  to  a  considerable  degree  by 
characters  imposed  by  material,  construction, 
use,  and  the  rather  weak  promptings  of  the  aes- 

'  Formed  of  interwoven  rods  or  twigs. 
'  See  page  1 20. 


126  The  Forest  Primeval 

thetic  Idea.  As  a  rule  they  are  not  crude,  but 
rather  shapely  and  graceful. 

''In  decoration  textile  ideas  inherited  from 
basketry  still  held  almost  undisputed  sway,  and 
the  timorous  essays  of  taste  did  not  extend 
beyond  the  shadow  of  the  mother  art. 

"The  impressions  of  nets,  baskets,  and  other 
textiles  employed  in  manipulating  the  clay  are 
in  many  cases  ornamental  in  effect  and  were 
probably  so  regarded  by  the  archaic  potter. 

"We  are  reasonably  safe  in  assuming  that  the 
elaboration  of  textile  suggestions  by  means  of 
stamps  and  pointed  tools  was  the  result  to  a 
certain  extent  of  aesthetic  promptings;  but  there 
is  another  element  to  be  considered — that  of  the 
inheritance  of  forms  and  ideas  from  antecedent 
stages  of  art  and  of  the  conservatism  of  habit  and 
superstition  that  tends  so  decidedly  to  retain  and 
perpetuate  them  even  when  meaningless. 

"The  amount  of  decorative  elaboration  is, 
therefore,  not  a  correct  measure  of  the  condition 
of  aesthetic  development,  although  it  is  a  measure 
of  the  condition  of  that  body  of  features  in  the 
art  that  become  the  exclusive  possession  of  the 
aesthetic  idea  after  habit  and  superstition  loosen 
their  hold. 

"I  have  myself  gathered  potsherds  of  the 
above  class  all  along  the  coast  from  the  Chowan 
River,  in  Carolina,  to  the  eastern  shore  of  Nan- 
tucket, and  have  seen  specimens  from  all  parts 
of  the  Atlantic  coastal  belt.  Among  them  all 
there  is  no  hint  of  other  ethnic  conditions  than 


Canoe-,  Arrow-,  and  Pottery-Making     127 

those  known  through  historic  channels.  All 
indicate  an  even  plane  of  barbaric  simplicity. 
There  is  fair  homogeneity  of  character  as  well  as 
correspondence  in  stage,  indicating  ethnic  unity. 

"Every  relic  of  art  has  an  ethnic  value,  and 
even  these  stray  fragments  of  earthenware, 
when  all  the  evidence  attainable  has  been  gath- 
ered about  them,  may  be  found  useful  in  the 
determination  of  ethnic  questions. 

"In  glancing  at  the  linguistic  map  of  the 
United  States  prepared  by  Major  Powell  and  his 
assistants  I  find  a  general  correspondence  be- 
tween the  distribution  of  this  family  of  earthen- 
ware and  the  area  assigned  to  the  Algonklan 
peoples."' 

'  The  American  Anthropologist,  vol.  xi.,  pp.  246-52. 

The  plates  and  articles  from  The  Americati  Anthropologist  pre- 
sented in  this  volume  are  reproduced  with  the  permission  of  The 
Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  and  The  Anthropological  Society  of 
Washington,  D.  C. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


HOUSES    AND    TOWNS 


PROBABLY  no  feature  of  Indian  life  has 
been  more  generally  misunderstood  than 
that  relating  to  their  habitations.  Most 
persons,  if  asked,  would  say  that  they  supposed 
the  Indians  of  Virginia  were  roving  bands,  oc- 
cupying tents,  when  they  could  have  been  said 
to  occupy  anything  at  all  of  that  nature. 

To  be  told  that  they  lived  in  houses,  and  that 
all  their  houses  were  located  in  towns,  in  most 
instances  carefully  palisadoed,  that  around  these 
fortified  towns  were  cultivated  fields,  and  that 
each  town  was  ruled  by  a  king,  would  strike  most 
with  surprise.  But  such  was  the  fact,  as  shown 
by  all  the  early  writers. 

Beverley,  whom  we  quote  from  so  freely  and 
frequently,  tells  us  that: 

"The  method  of  the  Indian  settlements  is 
altogether  by  cohabitation,  in  townships,  from 
fifty  to  five  hundred  families  in  a  town,  and  each 
of  these  towns  is  commonly  a  kingdom.  Some- 
times one  king  has  the  command  of  several  of 
these  towns,  when  they  happen  to  be  united  in 
his  hands,  by  descent  or  conquest;  but  in  such 
128 


Houses  and  Towns  129 

cases  there  is  always  a  viceregent  appointed  in 
the  dependent  town,  who  is  at  once  governor, 
judge,  chancellor,  and  has  the  same  power  and 
authority  which  the  king  himself  has  in  the  town 
where  he  resides.  This  viceroy  is  obliged  to 
pay  to  his  principal  some  small  tribute,  as  an 
acknowledgment  of  his  submission,  as  like- 
wise to  follow  him  to  his  wars,  whenever  he  is 
required."' 

This  was  essentially  the  feudal  system  as  it 
existed  in  so  many  other  countries. 

Glover,  writing  in  1676,  says  of  the  size  of 
these  towns: 

"At  the  first  coming  of  the  English  divers 
towns  had  two  or  three  thousand  bowmen  in 
them;  but  now,  in  the  southern  parts  of  Virginia, 
the  biggest  Indian  town  hath  not  above  five 
hundred  inhabitants;  many  towns  have  scarce 
sixty  bowmen  in  them,  and  in  one  town  there 
are  not  above  twenty,  and  they  are  so  universally 
thinned  in  the  forementioned  southern  part,  that 
I  verily  believe  there  are  not  above  three  thou- 
sand left  under  the  whole  government  of  Sir  Will 
Bartlet;  but  in  my  Lord  of  Baltimore's  territories 
at  the  head  of  the  bay,  where  the  English  were 
later  seated,  they  are  more  numerous,  there  be- 
ing still  in  some  towns  about  three  thousand 
Indians.  But  these  being  in  continual  wars  with 
each  other,  are  like  shortly  to  be  reduced  to  as 
small  numbers  as  the  former."^ 

» Beverley,  book  3,  p.  10. 
'Account  of  Virginia,  p.  22. 
9 


130  The  Forest  Primeval 

From  this  it  would  seem  that  earlier  accounts 
misrepresented  the  size  of  these  towns,  making 
them  appear  smaller  than  they  really  were. 
Possibly  this  was  done  in  order  not  to  deter 
settlers  from  coming  over.  The  Indian  popu- 
lation was  no  doubt  much  larger  than  we  are 
accustomed  to  think  of  it. 

Inside  the  enclosing  palisade,  irregularly 
placed,  stood  the  houses,  nine  or  ten  feet  high. 
Around  the  inside  of  them  were  banks  of  earth 
cast  up  to  serve  instead  of  stools  and  beds. 
The  furnishings  were  of  the  simplest  nature — 
earthen  pots,  wooden  bowls,  and  mats  to  lie  on — 
all  made  by  themselves.^ 

Beverley  thus  described  these  houses: 

"The  manner  the  Indians  have  of  building 
their  houses,  is  very  slight  and  cheap;  when 
they  would  erect  a  wig-wam,  which  is  the  Indian 
name  for  a  house,  they  stick  saplings  Into  the 
ground  by  one  end,  and  bend  the  other  at  the 
top,  fastening  them  together  with  strings  made 
of  fibrous  roots,  the  rind  of  trees,  or  of  the  green 
wood  of  the  white  oak,  which  will  rlve^  Into 
thongs.  The  smallest  sort  of  these  cabins  are 
conical,  like  a  bee-hive;  but  the  larger  are  built 
in  an  oblong  form,  and  both  are  covered  with 
the  bark  of  trees,  which  will  rive  off  Into  great 
flakes.  Their  windows  are  little  holes  left  open 
for  the  passage  of  the  light,  which  In  bad  weather 
they  stop  with  shutters  of  the  same  bark,  open- 

'  Glover's  Account  of  Virginia,  p.  23. 
^  Split. 


Houses  and  Towns  131 

ing  the  leeward  windows  for  air  and  light.  Their 
chimney,  as  among  the  true-born  Irish,  is  a  little 
hole  in  the  top  of  the  house,  to  let  out  the  smoke, 
having  no  sort  of  funnel,  or  anything  within,  to 
confine  the  smoke  from  ranging  through  the 
whole  roof  of  the  cabins,  if  the  vent  will  not  let 
it  out  fast  enough.  The  fire  is  always  made  in 
the  middle  of  the  cabin.  Their  door  is  a  pendent 
mat,  when  they  are  near  home ;  but  when  they 
go  abroad,  they  barricado'  it  with  great  logs 
of  wood  set  against  the  mat,  which  are  sufficient 
to  keep  out  wild  beasts.  There  is  never  more 
than  one  room  in  a  house,  except  in  some  houses 
of  state  or  religion,  where  the  partition  is  made 
only  by  mats  and  loose  poles. " 

"Their  houses  or  cabins,  as  we  call  them,  are 
by  this  ill  method  of  building,  continually 
smoky,  when  they  have  fire  in  them;  but  to 
ease  that  inconvenience,  and  to  make  the 
smoke  less  troublesome  to  their  eyes,  they  gen- 
erally burn  pine  or  lightwood  (that  is,  the  fat 
knots  of  dead  pine)  the  smoke  of  which  does  not 
offend  the  eyes,  but  smuts  the  skin  exceedingly, 
and  is  perhaps  another  occasion  of  the  darkness 
of  their  complexion. 

"Their  seats,  like  those  In  the  eastern  part 
of  the  world,  are  the  ground  Itself;  and  as  the 
people  of  distinction  amongst  them  used  carpets, 
so  cleanliness  has  taught  the  better  sort  of  these, 
to  spread  match-coats^  and  mats  to  sit  on. 

'  Shut  in  and  defend. 

*  Clothes  in  shape  like  shawls. 


132  The  Forest  Primeval 

"They  take  up  their  lodgings'  in  the  sides  of 
their  cabins,  upon  a  couch,  made  of  board,  sticks 
or  reeds,  which  are  raised  from  the  ground  upon 
forks, ""  and  covered  with  mats  or  skins.  Some- 
times they  lie  upon  a  bearskin,  or  other  thick 
pelt,  dressed  with  the  hair  on,  and  laid  upon  the 
ground  near  a  fire,  covering  themselves  with 
their  match-coats.  In  warm  weather  a  single 
mat  is  their  only  bed,  and  another  rolled  up  their 
pillow.  In  their  travels  a  grass  plat  under  the 
covert  of  a  shady  tree,  is  all  the  lodgings  they 
require,  and  is  as  pleasant  and  refreshing  to 
them,  as  a  down-bed  and  fine  Holland  sheets  are 
to  us. 

"Their  fortifications  consist  only  of  a  palisado,^ 
of  about  ten  or  twelve  feet  high ;  and  when  they 
would  make  themselves  very  safe,  they  treble 
the  pale."^  They  often  encompass  their  whole 
town.  But  for  the  most  part  only  their  king's 
houses,  and  as  many  others  as  they  judge  suf- 
ficient to  harbor  all  their  people,  when  an  enemy 
comes  against  them.  They  never  fail  to  secure 
within  their  palisado,  all  their  religious  relics, 
and  the  remains^  of  their  princes.  Within  this 
enclosure,  they  likewise  take  care  to  have  a 
supply  of  water,  and  to  make  a  place  for  a  fire, 
which  they  frequently  dance  round  with  great 
solemnity."^ 

'  Sleeping  or  resting  places. 

'  Bifurcated  branches  of  trees. 

3  Palisade.         4  Encircle  the  town  with  three  lines  of  palisades. 

s  Embalmed  bodies. 

*  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  11-13. 


Houses  and  Towns  133 

"Each  household  knoweth  their  own  lands, 
and  gardens,  and  most  live  of  their  own  labors. " 

Hariot  has  this  to  say  of  their  towns,  and  the 
construction  of  their  houses: 

"Their  towns  are  but  small,  and  near  the 
seacoast  but  few,  some  containing  but  ten  or 
twelve  houses:  some  20,  the  greatest  that  we  have 
seen  hath  been  but  of  30  houses :  if  they  be  walled, 
it  is  only  done  with  barks  of  trees  made  fast  to 
stakes,  or  else  with  poles  only  fixed  upright, 
and  close  one  by  another. 

"Their  houses  are  made  of  small  poles,  made 
fast  at  the  tops  in  round  form  after  the  manner 
as  is  used  in  many  arbors  in  our  gardens  of 
England,  in  most  towns  covered  with  barks,  and 
in  some  with  artificial  mats  made  of  long  rushes, 
from  the  tops  of  the  houses  down  to  the  ground. 
The  length  of  them  is  commonly  double  to  the 
breadth,  in  some  places  they  are  but  12  and  16 
yards  long,  and  in  other  some  we  have  seen  of 
four  and  twenty."' 

"By  the  dwellings  of  the  savages,"  says 
Strachey,  "are  bay  trees,  wild  roses,  and  a  kind 
of  low  tree,  which  bears  a  cod  like  to  the  peas, 
but  nothing  so  big;  we  take  it  to  be  locust."^ 
This  is  identified  as  a  tree  very  much  like  the 
European  crab. 

"Every  small  town  is  a  petty  kingdom  gov- 
erned by  an  absolute  monarch,  assisted  and 
advised  by  his  great  men,  selected  out  of  the 

'  Twenty-four  yards  long.     Hakluyt,  vol.  ii.,  p.  348. 
*  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  pp.  72,  130. 


134  The  Forest  Primeval 

gravest,  oldest,  bravest  and  richest;'  if  I  may 
allow  their  deerskins,  peak  and  roanoke  (black 
and  white  shells  with  holes,  which  they  wear  on 
strings  about  their  arms  and  necks)  to  be  wealth. 

''They  dwell  in  towns  some  twenty,  some  a 
hundred  miles,  and  some  farther  from  one  an- 
other, each  town  having  a  particular  jargon 
and  peculiar  customs;  though  for  the  most  part 
they  agree  in  certain  signs,  expressions  and 
manners." 

"They  cohabit  in  some  hundreds  of  families,^ 
and  fix  upon  the  richest  ground  to  build  their 
wooden  houses,  which  they  place  in  a  circular 
form,  meanly  defended  with  pales,^  and  covered 
with  bark;  the  middle  area  (or  forum)  being  for 
common  use  and  public  occasions.  The  women 
in  order  to  plant  their  Indian  corn  and  tobacco 
(to  clear  the  ground  of  trees)  cut  the  bark  round; 
so  that  they  die  and  don't  shade  the  ground,  and 
decay  in  time. 

"Wherever  we  meet  with  an  old  Indian  field, 
or  place  where  they  have  lived,  we  are  sure  of  the 
best  ground.  They  all  remove  their  habitation'^ 
for  fear  of  their  enemies,  or  for  the  sake  of  game 
and  provision."^ 

"The  towns  in  this  country  are  in  a  manner 
like  unto  those  which  are  in  Florida,  yet  are 

'  A  thoroughly  aristocratic  form  of  government. 

2  Live  in  the  same  town  together  to  the  number  of  some  hun- 
dreds of  famihes. 

3  PaUsadcs  which  constituted  but  a  weak  defence. 

■»  The  inhabitants  of  the  town  remove  together  as  one  body, 
s  Jones's  Presetti  State  of  Virginia,  pp.  8-9. 


The  Town  of  Pom-e-i-ock 


Houses  and  Towns  135 

they  not  so  strong  nor  yet  preserved  with  so 
great  care.  They  are  compassed  about  with 
poles  stuck  fast  in  the  ground,  but  they  are  not 
very  strong.  The  entrance  is  very  narrow  as 
may  be  seen  by  this  picture,  which  is  made 
according  to  the  form  of  the  town  of  Pom-e-i-ock. 
There  are  but  few  houses  therein,  save  those 
which  belong  to  the  king  and  his  nobles.  On  the 
one  side  is  their  temple  separated  from  the  other 
houses  and  marked  with  the  letter  A.,  it  is 
builded  round,  and  covered  with  skin-mats,  and 
as  it  were  compassed  about  with  cortynes^  with- 
out windows,  and  hath  no  light  but  the  door.- 

On  the  other  side  is  the  king's  lodging  marked 
with  the  letter  B.  Their  dwellings  are  builded 
with  certain  potes^  fastened,  and  covered  with 
mats  which  they  turn  up  as  high  as  they  think 
good,  and  so  receive  in  the  light  and  other. "^ 
Some  are  also  covered  with  boughs  of  trees,  as 
every  man  lusteth  or  liketh  best.  They  keep 
their  feasts  and  make  good  cheer  together  in  the 
midst  of  the  town.  When  the  town  standeth 
far  from  the  water  they  dig  a  great  pond  noted 
with  the  letter  C.  where  hence  they  fetch  as  much 
water  as  they  need."^ 

"They  eat,  sleep,  and  dress  their  meat  all 
under  one  roof,  and  in  one  chamber  as  it  were.  "^ 

"Their  towns  that  are  not  enclosed  with  poles 

'  Curtains. 

'  No  opening  for  the  light  but  the  door. 

3  Sticks.  4  Things,  understood. 

s  Hariot's  Narrative,  xix. 

'Strachey,  Historic  of  Travails  into   Virginia,  p.  71. 


136  The  Forest  Primeval 

are  commonly  fairer'  than  such  as  are  enclosed, 
as  appeareth  in  this  figure  which  lively-  ex- 
presseth  the  town  of  Se-co-tam.^  For  the  houses 
are  scattered  here  and  there,  and  they  have 
garden  expressed  by  the  letter  E.  wherein 
groweth  tobacco  which  the  inhabitants  call  up- 
po-woc.  They  have  also  groves  wherein  they 
take  deer,  and  fields  wherein  they  sow  their  corn. 
In  their  cornfields  they  build  as  it  were  a  scaffold, 
whereon  they  set  a  cottage  like  to  a  round  chair, 
signified  by  F.,  wherein  they  place  one  to  watch, 
for  there  are  such  number  of  fowls,  and  beasts,"* 
that  unless  they  keep  the  better  watch,  they 
would  soon  devour  all  their  corn.  For  which 
cause  the  watchmen  maketh  continual  cries  and 
noise. 

"They  sow  their  corn  with  a  certain  dis- 
tance noted  by  H.  otherwise  one  stalk  would 
choke  the  growth  of  another  and  the  corn  would 
not  come  unto  its  ripeness,  G.^  For  the  leaves 
thereof  are  large,  like  unto  the  leaves  of  great 
reeds.  They  have  also  a  several  broad  plot,^  C. 
where  they  meet  with  their  neighbors,  to  cele- 
brate their  chief  solemn  feasts;  and  a  place  D. 
where,  after  they  have  ended  their  feast,  they 
make  merry  together.     Over  against  this  place 

'  Larger  and  handsomer. 
'  In  a  life-like  manner. 

3  Generally  written  Se-co-ta.     Se-co-tam  was  the  name  of  a  region 
of  which  Se-co-ta  may  have  been  the  capital. 
''Game,  not  domestic, 
s  G.  in  the  picture  represents  the  ripe  corn. 
*  Separate  and  apart. 
7  Small  piece  of  ground  of  well-defined  shape. 


T  B  *X0        ^ 

The  Unenclosed  Town  of  Se-co-ta 


Houses  and  Towns  137 

they  have  a  round  plot  B.  where  they  assemble 
themselves  to  make  their  solemn  prayers.  Not 
far  from  which  place  there  is  a  large  building 
A.  wherein  are  the  tombs  ^  of  their  kings  and 
princes,  likewise  they  have  garden  noted  by  the 
letter  I,  wherein  they  use  to  sow  pompions.^ 
Also  a  place  marked  with  K.  wherein  they  make  a 
fire  at  their  solemn  feasts,  and  hard  without  the 
town  a  river  L.  from  whence  they  fetch  their 
water. 

"This  people  therefore  void  of  all  covetous- 
ness  live  cheerfully  and  at  their  hearts'  ease. 
But  they  solemnize  their  feasts  in  the  night,  and 
therefore  they  keep  very  great  fires,  to  avoid^ 
darkness,  and  to  testify  their  joy."'* 

Smith's  account,  agreeing  in  the  main  with 
what  has  been  said,  and  adding  additional 
details,  is  as  follows: 

"Their  buildings  and  habitations  are,  for  the 
most  part,  by  the  rivers,  or  not  far  distant  from 
some  fresh  spring.  Their  houses  are  built  like 
our  arbors,  of  small  young  sprigs^  bowed  and 
tied,  and  so  close  covered  with  mats,  or  the 
barks  of  trees  very  handsomely,  that  not- 
withstanding either  wind,  rain  or  weather,  they 
are  as  warm  as  stoves,  but  very  smoky,  yet  at 
the  top  of  the  house  there  is  a  hole  made  for  the 
smoke  to  go  into  right  over  the  fire. 

"Against  the  fire  they  lie  on  little  hurdles^  of 

'  Receptacles  for  the  embalmed  kings. 

'  Pumpkins.  3  Dispel.  ^  Hariot's  Narrative,  xx. 

s  Saplings.  «  A  movable  frame  made  of  interlaced  sticks. 


138  The  Forest  Primeval 

reeds  covered  with  a  mat,  borne'  from  the  ground 
a  foot  and  more  by  a  bundle  of  wood.  On  those 
round  about  the  house  they  He  heads  and  points  ^ 
one  by  the  other  against  the  fire,  some  covered 
with  mats,  some  with  skins,  and  some  stark 
naked.  He  on  the  ground,  from  6  to  20  in  a 
house. 

"Their  houses  are  in  the  midst  of  their  fields 
or  gardens,  which  are  small  plots  of  ground. 
Some  20  acres,  some  40,  some  100,  some  200, 
some  more,  some  less.  In  some  places  from  2 
to  50  of  these  houses  together,  are  but  little 
separated  by  groves  of  trees.  Near  their  habita- 
tions is  little^  small  wood  or  old  trees  on  the 
ground  by  reason  of  their  burning  of  them  for  fire, 
so  that  a  man  may  gallop  a  horse  amongst  these 
woods  any  way,  but  where  the  creeks  or  rivers 
shall  hinder.  "^ 

It  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  habitations  of  the 
Virginia  Indians,  were  houses,  and  not  tents. 
The  popular  idea  on  this  subject  is  clearly  er- 
roneous. It  is  derived  from  the  habits  of  the 
existing  Indian  tribes,  inhabiting  the  far  west, 
a  roving  collection  of  clans,  often  living  in  treeless 
regions.  They  have  less  permanency  of  location 
and  their  protection  from  the  weather,  is  of  a 
portable  nature,  made  of  skins  and  such  things. 

Strachey  tells  us  that  the  towns  of  the  Virginia 
Indians  were  commonly  upon  the  rise  of  a  hill, 

'  Supported. 

^  With  the  head  of  one  opposite  the  feet  of  another  lying  by  his 
side.  3  But  little.  "  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  129-31. 


Houses  and  Towns  139 

near  some  river,  so  that  they  could  see  whatever 
happened  upon  it.  That  there  were  not  many- 
houses  in  any  of  the  towns,  and  that  such  houses 
as  there  were,  were  located  without  any  regard 
to  a  street,  scattered  about,  far  and  wide,  and 
that  all  the  houses,  even  the  king's  were  alike. 
Every  house  usually  had  two  doors,  one  before 
and  a  postern.  The  doors  were  hung  with  mats, 
never  locked  nor  bolted.  The  houses  were  gener- 
ally placed  under  the  cover  of  large  trees,  for 
protection  from  bad  weather,  snow  and  rain,  and 
from  the  heat  of  the  sun  in  summer. 

Whittaker  tells  us  that:  "they  observe  the 
limits  of  their  own  possessions.'"  That  is, 
that  the  boundary  lines  of  their  several  tracts  of 
land  were  clearly  marked  out,  each  man  owning 
his  own  piece  of  land.  The  same  rule,  on  a 
larger  scale,  would  apply  to  communities. 
Spelman  gives  this  account  of  their  houses: 
"  Places  of  habitation  they  have  but  few,  for 
the  greatest  towns  have  not  above  20  or  30  houses 
in  them.  Their  buildings  are  made  like  an  oven 
with  a  little  hole  to  come  in  at  but  more  spacious 
within,  having  a  hole  in  the  midst  of  the  house 
for  smoke  to  go  out  at.  The  king's  houses  are 
both  broader  and  longer  than  the  rest,  having 
many  dark  windings  and  turnings  before  any 
come  where  the  king  is.  But  in  that  time  when 
they  go  a-hunting  the  women  go  to  a  place 
appointed  before,  to  build  houses  for  their  hus- 
bands  to  lie   in   at   night,   carrying  mats  with 

'  Purchas,  vol.  iv.,  p.  1771. 


140  The  Forest  Primeval 

them  to  cover  their  houses  with  all/  and  as  the 
men  go  further  a-hunting,  the  women  follow  to 
make  houses,  always  carrying  their  mats  with 
them."^ 

"By  their  houses  they  have  sometimes  a 
scaena,^  or  high  stage,  raised  like  a  scaffold,  of 
small  spelts,^  reeds,  or  dried  osiers,^  covered 
with  mats,  which  both  gives  a  shadow  and  is  a 
shelter,  and  serves  for  such  a  covered  place  where 
men  used  in  old  times  to  sit  and  talk  for  recrea- 
tion or  pleasure,  which  they  called  prcsstega,^ 
and  where,  on  a  loft  of  hurdles,^  they  lay  forth 
their  corn  and  fish  to  dry. 

"Round  about  the  house  on  both  sides  are 
their  bedsteads,  which  are  thick,  short  posts 
stuck  into  the  ground,  a  foot  high  and  somewhat 
more,  and  for  the  sides  small  poles  laid  along, 
with  a  hurdle  of  reeds  cast  over,  wherein  they 
roll  down  a  fine  white  mat  or  two  (as  for  a  bed) 
when  they  go  to  sleep,  and  the  which  they  roll 
up  again  in  the  morning  when  they  rise,  as  we 
do  our  pallets. 

"They  make  a  fire  before  them  in  the  midst  of 
the  house,  usually  every  night,  and  some  one  of 
them  by  agreement  maintains  the  fire  for  all  the 
night  long.  "^ 

'  Withal,  that  is,  in  addition. 

*  Spelman's  Relation  of  Virginia,  pp.  30-1. 

3  The  word  signified  an  arbor^  bower  or  tent,  and  later,  a  stage. 

4  Split  pieces  of  wood. 

5  Branches  of  the  willow  tree. 

*  Literally,  the  fore  part  of  the  deck  of  a  ship. 

^  The  floor  of  an  attic,  made  in  this  case  of  a  framework  of  sticks. 

*  Strachey,  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  pp.  72,  130. 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE    TOWNS    LOCATED 

WITH  reference  to  the  map  here  presented, 
we  will  say  that  it  is  founded,  so  far  as 
the  names  and  position  of  the  Indian 
towns  are  concerned,  on  the  map  known  as 
Smith's.  This  map  of  Virginia  is  thus  inscribed: 
**  Discovered  and  Described  by  Captain  John 
Smith,  1606."  As  the  colonists  never  saw 
Virginia  until  1607,  the  date  1606  refers  to  the 
year  the  expedition  sailed.  The  map  was  the 
result  no  doubt  of  all  the  information  gathered 
by  the  early  explorers,  and  compiled  at  a  later 
date.  This  map  is  a  good  one,  considering  the 
time  it  was  made,  and  the  inaccurate  surveys  it 
must  have  been  based  upon,  but  it  was,  of  course, 
not  perfect.  The  courses  and  distances  of  the 
rivers,  while  in  the  main  correct,  will  be  seen  on 
comparison  with  any  modern  map  of  the  State, 
to  be  far  from  accurate.  In  attempting  there- 
fore to  project  the  information  contained  in 
that  map  upon  a  properly  drawn  chart,  one  is 
met  with  the  impossibility  of  doing  so,  and  still 
retaining  the  same  relative  positions  of  objects 

as   presented   on   the  old   map.     We   have   at- 
141 


142  The  Forest  Primeval 

tempted  to  make  the  two  as  nearly  harmonious 
as  possible,  measuring  by  the  scales  of  the  two 
maps,  and  having  regard  to  the  more  important 
curves  of  the  rivers.  We  can  only  claim  for 
this  map  such  an  approximation  to  correctness 
as  could  be  reasonably  expected  under  these 
circumstances. 

It  gives  a  greater  feeling  of  reahty  as  to  these 
vanished  Indian  towns,  to  meet  with  them  by 
name,  in  the  history  of  those  times.  The  names 
of  the  towns  are  so  frequently  the  names  of  the 
tribes  which  inhabited  them,  that  when  we  read 
that  one  went  to  such  a  tribe,  it  is  often  equiva- 
lent to  saying,  that  he  went  to  the  village  named 
for  that  tribe.  But  it  brings  out  the  existence 
of  the  villages  more  sharply,  when  we  see  refer- 
ences to  them  purely  as  places.  We  have  col- 
lected a  few  of  the  references  to  certain  of  these 
villages,  which  serve  as  a  partial  verification 
of  the  map,  as  the  map  itself  helps  to  illuminate 
and  verify  the  history. 

Wer-o-w6-co-m6-co,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
York,  formerly  called  the  Paniunkey,  in  Glou- 
cester County,  is  mentioned  repeatedly  in  all 
the  works  on  this  subject.  It  was  the  favorite 
royal  residence,  and  the  place  at  which  Powhatan 
was  residing  at  the  time  of  the  invasion,  and 
where  Captain  Smith  was  brought  before  him. 
It  was  fourteen  miles  from  Jamestown.' 

The  exact  site  of  this  village  was  on  the  east 
bank  of  what  is  now  known  as  Timberneck  Bay, 

'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  142. 


Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  142, 


The  Towns  Located  143 

according  to  Campbell/  But  it  is  claimed  to 
have  been  on  Putin,  called  also  Poetan,  that  is, 
Powhatan  Bay,  and  also  on  the  estate  of  Rose- 
well,  and  still  again  at  Shelly.  Its  exact  location 
is  therefore  now  in  doubt.  But  these  places  are 
all  close  to  each  other,  so  its  general  situation  is 
well  ascertained.  Incidents  given  in  connection 
with  Smith's  arrival  there  which  may  help  to 
locate  it  are  given  in  his  history.^ 

From  Wer-o-w6-co-m6-co  the  local  tradition 
is  that  there  ran  an  Indian  trail,  or  road,  which 
passed  near  what  is  now  Gloucester  Court 
House;  thence,  it  ran  north,  crossing  the  Pianka- 
tank,  where  it  narrows,  above  Freeport,  into 
Middlesex.  A  part  of  this  road  about  ten 
miles  long,  from  Wan,  near  the  head  of  Ware 
River,  to  New  Upton,  near  the  Piankatank,  is 
still  known  as  the  Indian  Road,  which  is  believed 
to  follow  exactly  this  Indian  trail.  It  extended 
on  north,  through  Virginia  and  the  other  States 
into  Canada;  and  also,  crossing  the  York  and  the 
James,  continued  to  the  south,  into  the  land  of 
the  southern  Indians.  The  tradition  is  that  this 
path  was  only  used  for  trade  and  peaceful  com- 
munication, and  never  used  for  war  parties. 

Along  the  north  shore  of  the  York,  and  parallel 
to  it,  passing  Wer-o-w6-co-m6-co,  ran  another  trail 
to  West  Point,  the  land  of  Pamunkey.  This  trail  is 
believed  to  be  nearly  coincident  with  the  present 
thoroughfare  known  as  the  York  River  road. 

'  Campbell's  History  of  Virginia,  pp.  1 29-30. 
'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  207. 


144  The  Forest  Primeval 

Powhatan  was  another  royal  town,  situated  on 
the  north  side  of  the  James,  about  the  site  of 
Richmond,  and  gave  its  name  to  the  ruler  of  all 
the  tribes/ 

Powhatan  sold  this  place,  which  was  one  of 
his  inheritances,  in  September,  1609,  to  Captain 
Francis  West,  brother  of  Lord  Delaware.  He 
promptly  erected  a  fort  there,  calling  it  West's 
fort,  and  settled  there  with  120  English/ 

At  Qui-yough-co-han-ock,  on  the  south  side  of 
the  James,  in  Surry  County,  some  ten  miles 
from  Jamestown,  they  had  a  yearly  sacrifice  of 
children,  in  connection  with  the  rite  of  hus-ka- 
naw-ing,  described  by  Beverley/ 

Chaw-o-po-we-an-ock,  which  we  take  to  be 
the  same  as  the  Chaw-o-po  of  the  map,  near  the 
above,  is  mentioned  as  a  place  where  all  the 
Indians  ran  away  from  the  English,  being  so 
afraid  of  them,  or  so  "jealous  of  our  intents," 
as  Smith  quaintly  expresses  it/ 

Pas-pa-hegh  is  mentioned  in  connection  with 
one  of  Smith's  early  voyages  in  seeking  to  buy 
corn  of  the  Indians.  He  says:  "In  my  return 
to  Pas-pa-hegh,  I  traded  with  that  churlish  and 
treacherous  nation:  having  loaded  10  or  12 
bushels  of  corn,  they  offered  to  take  our  pieces,^ 
and  swords,  yet  by  stealth,  but  seeming  to  dislike 
it,  they  were  ready  to  assault  us,  yet  standing 
upon  our  guard  in  coasting  the  shore,  divers^ 

'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  142. 

*  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  48. 

3  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  37-41.  ■»  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  204. 

s  Guns.  ^  Several. 


The  Towns  Located  145 

out  of  the  woods  would  meet  with  us  with  corn 
and  trade,"  etc/ 

Pas-pa-hegh  was  the  nearest  village  to 
Jamestown. 

Ar-ro-ha-teck,  in  Henrico  County,  is  men- 
tioned as  being  near  the  location  chosen  by  Sir 
Thomas  Dale  for  the  site  of  his  town  of  Henrico.'' 
The  name  is  here  spelt  Ar-sa-hat-tock,  but  it  must 
be  meant  to  be  the  same  place  as  Ar-ro-ha-teck. 

Moy-so-nec  is  described  as  a  peninsula  of  four 
miles  circuit,  between  two  rivers  joined  to  the 
main  land  by  a  neck  of  forty  or  fifty  yards,  and 
being  about  the  same  distance  from  high  water 
mark. 

Near  it  were  fertile  corn  fields,  and  the  site 
of  the  town  was  described  as  all  that  could  be 
desired.  The  result  of  these  attractions,  was  a 
large  population.^ 

Ap-po-cant  is  mentioned  as  the  town  farthest 
up  the  Chickahominy.  It  was  in  connection  with 
making  the  acquaintance  of  this  town  and  neigh- 
borhood, that  Smith  was  captured  by  0-pe- 
chan-ca-nough,  and  dragged  around  the  country 
for  several  weeks."* 

Mo-hom-in-ge  was  a  village  near  the  Falls  of 
the  James,  or  near  the  site  of  Richmond.  Here 
King  James  was  proclaimed  King  by  the  first 
settlers. 5 

Cap-a-ho-wa-sick,  a  town  on  the  north  side  of 

*  Smith's  True  Relation,  p.  i8.  ^  Smith,  vol.  ii.,  p.  lo. 

3  Smith's  True  Relation,  p.  22.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  23. 

s  Hisiorie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  25. 


146  The  Forest  Primeval 

the  York,  In  Gloucester  County,  about  midway 
between  Wer-o-w6-co-m6-co  and  Chesapeake 
Bay,  was  the  place  which  Powhatan  offered  to 
give  to  Captain  Smith,  after  his  rescue  by  Poca- 
hontas, and  his  adoption  Into  the  tribe.  This 
was  to  be  given  him  In  exchange  for  two  cannon 
and  a  grindstone.' 

KIs-kl-ack  Is  mentioned  In  connection  with  the 
journey  Captain  Smith  took  to  see  Powhatan, 
in  January,  1609:  "At  KIs-kl-ack  the  frost  and 
contrary  winds  forced  us  three  or  four  days  also 
(to  suppress  the  Insolency  of  those  proud  savages) 
to  quarter  In  their  houses,  yet  guard  our  barge, 
and  cause  them  give  us  what  we  wanted."^ 

0-zI-nIes,  which  v/e  take  to  be  the  same  as  the 
0-ze-nIck,  located  on  the  map,  In  James  City 
County,  Is  mentioned  as  having  Inhabitants  who 
resisted  the  payment  of  the  tribute  of  corn,  and 
for  their  refusal,  they  were  attacked  by  Sir 
George  Yeardley.  Their  wer-6-ance  was  KIs- 
sa-na-co-men.^ 

Ma-ma-na-hunt,  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Chlckahomlny,  In  Charles  City  County,  Is  men- 
tioned as  a  place  whose  Inhabitants,  also,  after 
the  departure  of  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  refused  to 
pay  the  tribute  of  corn  Imposed  by  the  English. 
They  defied  Sir  George  Yeardley,  his  successor, 
who  attacked  the  place,  to  enforce  his  demands. 
Under  the  wer-6-ance,  Kis-sa-na-co-men,  they 
resisted,  and  a  slaughter  followed.     During  this 

*  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  163. 

^  Ibid.,  p.  206.  3  Ihid.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  27, 


The  Towns  Located  147 

fight,  prisoners  were  taken  by  the  Enghsh,  and 
ransomed  on  the  payment  of  one  hundred 
barrels  of  corn  by  the  Indians. 

Up  to  this  time,  this  people  had  never  been 
a  part  of  the  Powhatan  Confederacy,  having 
been  able  to  withstand  the  power  of  Powhatan 
and  0-pe-chan-ca-nough.  After  this  fight  with 
the  English,  however,  they  acknowledged  0-pe- 
chan-ca-nough  as  their  King,  he  having  made 
them  believe  that  it  was  due  to  his  influence 
with  the  English,  that  these  terrible  invaders 
made  peace  with  them.' 

Ches-a-ka-won,  in  Lancaster  County,  is  men- 
tioned as  the  place  at  which  Captain  Spelman, 
on  board  the  bark  Elizabeth,  was  first  told  by  an 
Indian,  of  0-pe-chan-ca-nough's  first  plot  to 
massacre  the  English.^ 

We-an-oack,  on  the  north  side  of  the  James, 
in  Charles  City  County,  is  mentioned  in  con- 
nection with  the  revenge  the  English  took  for 
the  massacre  of  1622,  thus:  "  Shortly  after.  Sir 
George  Yeardley  and  Captain  William  Powel 
took  each  of  them  a  company  of  well  disposed 
gentlemen  and  others  to  seek  their  enemies. 
Yeardley  ranging  the  shore  of  We-an-ock,  could 
see  nothing  but  their  old  houses  which  he  burnt, 
and  went  home.  Powel  searching  another  part, 
found  them  all  fled  but  three  he  met  by  chance, 
whose  heads  he  cut  oflf,  burnt  their  houses  and  so 
returned."^ 

'  Smith,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  27-8. 

=  Ibid.,  p.  78.  J  Ibid.,  p.  84. 


148  The  Forest  Primeval 

Ke-cough-tan,  in  Elizabeth  City  County,  near, 
or  at,  Hampton,  is  spoken  of  as  being  forty  miles 
from  Jamestown.  The  place  was  well  known, 
and  is  often  mentioned.  This  town  is  thus 
described  by  Smith.  "The  town  containeth 
eighteen  houses,  pleasantly  seated  upon  three 
acres  of  ground,  upon  a  plain,  half  environed 
with  a  great  Bay'  of  the  great  River,^  the  other 
part  with  a  Bay  of  the  other  River^  falling  into 
the  great  Bay,  with  a  little  Isle  fit  for  a  Castle 
in  the  mouth  thereof,  the  Town  adjoining  to  the 
main'^  by  a  neck  of  land  of  sixty  yards.  "^ 

The  destruction  of  this  village  by  Sir  Thomas 
Gates,  the  Lieutenant  General,  in  revenge  for 
the  Indians  capturing,  leading  up  into  the  woods, 
and  "sacrificing"  one  of  his  men,  Humfre}^  Blunt, 
is  thus  told  us: 

"The  ninth  of  July,  he  prepared  his  forces,  and 
early  in  the  morning  set  upon  a  town  of  theirs, 
some  four  miles  from  Algernoone  Fort,^  called 
Ke-cough-tan,  and  had  soon  taken  it,  without 
loss  or  hurt  of  any  of  his  men.  The  Governor  and 
his  women  fled  (the  young  king  Powhatan's  son 
not  being  there)  but  left  his  poor  baggage  and 
treasure  to  the  spoil  of  our  soldiers,  which  was 
only  a  few  baskets  of  old  wheat,  and  some  other 
of  peas  and  beans,  a  little  tobacco,  and  some  few 
women's  girdles  of  silk,   of  the  grass-silk,   not 

'  The  body  of  water  between  the  mouth  of  Hampton  Creek  and 
Old  Point.  =  The  James. 

^  Hampton  Creek.  4  Main  land. 

s  Smith's  True  Relation,  p.  16,  '  Built  by  the  English. 


The  Towns  Located  149 

without  art,  and  much  neatness  finely  wrought; 
of  which  I  have  sent  divers  into  England,  (being 
at  the  taking  of  the  town)  and  would  have  sent 
your  Ladyship  some  of  them,  had  they  been  a 
present  so  worthy. " ' 

Ap-po-cant,  on  the  Chickahominy,  in  Han- 
over County,  is  mentioned  as  the  place  at  which 
George  Cawson  was,  with  the  most  cruel  tortures, 
put  to  death  by  the  Indians/ 

Ac-quack,  in  Richmond  County,  on  the  North 
side  of  the  Rappahannock,  is  mentioned  in  dis- 
cussing plans  for  subjugating  the  Indians,  as  is 
also  0-ze-nick,  in  James  City  County,  on  the 
Chickahominy.^ 

Pis-sac-o-ack,  Mat-o-ho-pick  and  Me-cup-pom, 
towns  next  to  each  other  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Rappahannock,  in  Richmond  or  Westmoreland 
Counties,  are  stated  to  have  been  situated  upon 
high,  white  clay  cliffs."* 

War-ras-koy-ack,  in  Isle  of  Wight  County,  is 
often  mentioned.  An  English  settlement  there 
was  attacked,  but  successfully  defended,  in  the 
great  massacre  of  1622  J 

Nan-se-mond,  in  the  County  of  that  name,  is 
frequently  mentioned.  One  of  the  earliest  refer- 
ences to  it  is  this:  "Seven  or  eight  miles  we 
sailed  up  this  narrow  river  (the  Nansemond), 
at  last  on  the  western  shore  we  saw  large  corn- 


'  Purchas,  vol.  iv.,  p.  1755. 

'  Ilistorie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  52. 

3  Smith,  vol.  ii.,  p.  91.  4  Ihid.,  vol  i.,  p.  185. 

^Ihid.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  68. 


150  The  Forest  Primeval 

fields,  in  the  midst  a  little  Isle;  and  in  it  was 
abundance  of  corn,  the  people  he  (an  Indian  of 
that  tribe)  told  us  were  all  a-hunting,  but  in  the 
Isle  was  his  house,  to  which  he  invited  us  with 
much  kindness."' 

Houses  of  the  Chesapeake  tribe  are  thus  men- 
tioned: "So  setting  sail  for  the  southern  shore 
(that  is,  from  Point  Comfort)  we  sailed  up  a  nar- 
row river,^  up  the  country  of  Chisapeack;  it  hath 
a  good  channel,  but  many  shoals,  about  the  en- 
trance. By  that^  we  had  sailed  six  or  seven 
miles,^  we  saw  two  or  three  little  garden  plots 
with  their  houses,  the  shores  overgrown  with 
the  greatest  pine  and  fir  trees  we  ever  saw  in 
the  country.  But  not  seeing  nor  hearing  any 
people,  and  the  river  very  narrow,  we  returned 
to  the  great  river,  ^  to  see  if  we  could  find  any  of 
them."^ 

Nom-i-ny,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Potomac, 
in  Westmoreland  County,  where  cliffs  and  a  creek 
still  bear  this  name,  was  visited  by  Smith  and  a 
party  he  commanded.  They  were  conducted  by 
two  Indians  "up  a  little  bayed  creek,  towards 
Nom-i-ny,  where  they  discovered  the  woods  laid 
with  ambuscadoes,^  to  the  number  of  three  or 
four  thousand  Indians,  strangely  grimed,^  dis- 
guised and  making  a  horrible  shouting  and 
yelling. "  ^ 

'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  190.  '  The  Elizabeth.  3  When. 

4  This  would  have  brought  them  to  the  neighborhood  of  Norfolk. 
s  The  James.  ^  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  190. 

7  Ambuscades.  «  Painted  with  soot. 

9  Stith's  History  of  Virginia,  p.  65. 


The  Towns  Located.  151 

Pa-taw-o-mek,  in  Staflford  County,  is  men- 
tioned frequently,  once  in  connection  with  a 
fight  with  the  Indians,  which  was  termi- 
nated by  Spelman's  head  being  cut  off  by  the 
Indians,  and  thrown  down  the  river  bank  to  his 
friends. ' 

On  the  other  side  of  the  Chesapeake,  Tock- 
wogh,  in  Kent  County,  Maryland,  was  located 
seven  miles  up  the  river  of  that  name,  now  known 
as  the  Chester,  This  town  was  a  fort,  well  pali- 
sadoed,  and  mantled  with  the  bark  of  trees, 
an  armor  which  would  be  very  effective  against 
arrows.  ^ 

Ala-chot,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Mattapony, 
in  King  and  Queen  County,  was  a  village  belong- 
ing to  0-pe-chan-ca-nough.  This  was  his  princi- 
pal residence  after  the  massacre  of  1622,  and, 
no  doubt,  the  center  of  the  Indian  opposition 
until  his  death,  soon  after  the  second  massacre 
brought  about  by  him,  in  1644. 

"Ma-chot  is  supposed  to  be  identical  with 
Eltham,  the  old  seat  of  the  Bassets,  in  King  and 
Queen  County,  and  which  borrows  its  name  from 
an  old  English  seat  in  the  County  of  Kent." 
It  was  here  that  Powhatan's  two  sons  went  on 
board  the  vessel,  to  see  their  sister,  Pocahontas, 
then  in  captivity.  Finding  her  well,  they  ad- 
vised their  father  to  make  peace,  and  be  friends 
with  the  English.^ 

Hamor,  in  telling  of  the  negotiations  relating 

'  Smith,  vol.  ii.,  p.  95.  ^  Ihid.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  120,  182. 

i  Campbell's  History  of  Virginia,  p.  108. 


152  The  Forest  Primeval 

to  the  return  of  Pocahontas,  after  her  capture, 
says  that  they  were  "anchored  near  unto  the 
chiefest  residence  Powhatan  had,  at  a  town  called 
Ma-chot, "  etc/ 

This  would  make  Ma-chot  equal  Wer-o-wo-co- 
mo-co  in  dignity  and  importance. 

Powhatan  was  here,  when  Hamor  and  Savage 
and  their  Indian  guides  came  to  him,  to  try  and 
obtain  another  of  his  daughters  for  marriage 
to  some  Englishman.  This  embassy  was  un- 
successful.^ 

A-quo-han-ock,  in  the  northern  part  of  North- 
ampton County;  0-nan-coke,  in  Accomack 
County;  Paw-tux-unt,  in  Calvert  County, 
Maryland,  and  Mat-ta-pan-i-ent,  which  we  take 
to  be  the  same  as  Matt-pa-ment,  located  on  the 
map,  in  Prince  George  County,  Maryland,  are 
mentioned  as  places  visited  by  John  Pory,  Sec- 
retary of  Virginia,  some  time  about  1619.^  May- 
ta-pan-i-ent  is  also  mentioned  in  connection 
with  a  sham  battle,  which  was  fought  on  one 
occasion  between  the  Indians,  for  the  entertain- 
ment of  their  European  guests."^ 

Or-a-pax  was  a  hunting  town  and  seat,  lying  on 
the  upper  part  of  Chickahominy  swamp,  on  the 
north  side,  belonging  to,  and  much  frequented 
by,  Powhatan,  and  the  imperial  family,  on  ac- 
count of  the  abundance  of  game  it  afforded.^ 

It  is  described  as  situated  "in  the  desert  be- 


'  Hamor's  Discourse,  p.  9.  *  Ibid.,  p.  38. 

3  Smith,  vol.  ii.,  p.  61.  ■»  Ibid.,  vol.  i.,  p.  135. 

s  Burk  History  of  Virginia,  vol.  i.,  p.  107. 


The  Towns  Located  153 

twixt  Chick-a-ham-a-nie  and  Yough-ta-mund, " 
that  is,  somewhere  in  Hanover  County,  very 
probably.  It  was  the  town  to  which  the  old 
Emperor  Powhatan  retired  in  order  to  be  beyond 
the  power  of  the  English.  Near  this  town  he  had 
his  treasures,  which  were  kept  in  reserve  for  his 
death,  and  for  his  use  on  his  journey  to  the  spirit 
land,  and  here  he  finally  died,  in  the  month  of 
April,  1618.^ 

This  town  was  about  twelve  miles  northeast 
of  Richmond,  and  consisted  of  about  thirty  or 
forty  houses.^ 

The  Na-cotch-ta-nok  of  our  map,  was  situated 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Anacostia  River,  now 
in  the  District  of  Columbia.  Its  site  is  thus 
described  by  Mr.  S.  V.  Proudfit:    , 

"The  principal  part  of  Na-cotch-tanke  seems 
to  have  been  about  due  east  of  the  Capitol,  for 
the  fields  at  this  point  give  greater  evidence  of 
occupation  than  at  most  others,  though  indica- 
tions of  Indian  occupation  are  to  be  found  at 
nearly  all  points  of  the  valley.  It  should  be 
noted  that  the  dwellings  were  in  most  cases  close 
to  the  bank  of  the  stream.  A  line  drawn  parallel 
with  the  shore  and  three  hundred  feet  distant 
would  include  the  greater  part  of  the  houses. 
Within  the  area  thus  indicated  may  be  found 
to-day  every  variety  of  stone  implement  com- 
mon to  the  North  American  Indian.  Arrow- 
heads,  spear-heads,   knives,   drills,   perforators, 

'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  142-3;  vol.  ii.,  p.  36. 
'  Campbell's  History  of  Virginia,  p.  46. 


154  The  Forest  Primeval 

scrapers,  sinkers,  polished  axes  (both  grooved 
and  ungrooved),  sharpening-stones,  pipes,  slate 
tablets,  pestles,  mortars,  cup-stones,  hammer- 
stones,  as  well  as  that  rude  axe-shaped  implement 
of  chipped  quartzite  which  has  yet  to  receive  a 
name.  Associated  with  these,  and  forming  no 
inconsiderable  part  of  the  remains,  are  found 
partly  worked  implements — some  broken,  others 
worked  into  the  first  rude  forms  of  the  arrow- 
head or  knife  and  then  abandoned,  and  abound- 
ing everywhere  flakes,  chips,  and  pebbles  of 
quartz  and  quartzite  having  but  a  chip  or  two 
struck  from  the  original  surface. 

"These  fields  have  been  under  cultivation  for 
many  years,  and  are  regularly  visited  by  local 
collectors,  yet  they  are  to-day  In  places,  fairly 
strewn  with  the  wreck  of  the  old  village 
llfe."^ 

Beverley,  writing  in  1705,  gives  this  list  of  the 
then  existing  towns,  and  their  conditions: 

"The  Indians  of  Virginia  are  almost  wasted, 
but  such  towns,  or  people  as  retain  their  names, 
and  live  In  bodies,  are  hereunder  set  down;  all 
which  together  can't  raise  five  hundred  fighting 
men.  They  live  poorly,  and  much  In  fear  of 
the  neighboring  Indians.  Each  town,  by  the 
Articles  of  Peace  in  1677,^  pays  3  Indian  arrows 
for  their  land,  and  20  beaver  skins  for  protection 
every  year. 

'  The  American  Anthropologist,  vol.  xi.,  p.  242. 
=  The  settlement  of  the  disturbances  with  the  Indians  which 
brought  on  Bacon's  Rebellion  the  year  before. 


The  Towns  Located  155 

"In  Accomack  are  eight  towns/  viz: 

"  Ma-tom-kin  is  much  decreased  of  late  by  the 
smallpox,  that  was  carried  thither. 

"Gin-go-teque.  The  few  remains  of  this 
town  are  joined  with  a  nation  of  the  Maryland 
Indians. 

*'Kie-quo-tank  is  reduced  to  very  few  men. 

"Match-o-pun-go  has  a  small  number  yet 
living. 

'*Oc-ca-han-ock  has  a  small  number  yet  living. 

"  Pun-go-teque.  Governed  by  a  queen,  but 
a  small  nation. 

"0-a-nan-cock  has  but  four  or  five  families. 

"Chi-con-es-sex  has  very  few,  who  just  keep 
the  name. 

"Nan-du-ye.  A  seat  of  the  Empress.  Not 
above  twenty  families,  but  she  hath  all  the  na- 
tions of  this  shore  under  tribute. 

"In  Northampton.  Gan-gas-coe  which  Is 
almost  as  numerous  as  all  the  foregoing  nations 
put  together. 

"In  Prince  George.  Wy-a-noke  is  almost 
wasted,  and  now  gone  to  live  among  other 
Indians. 

"In  Charles  City.  Ap-pa-mat-tox.  These 
live  in  Colonel  Byrd's  pasture,  not  being  above 
seven  families. 

"In  Surry.  Not-ta-ways,  which  are  about  a 
hundred  bowmen,  of  late  a  thriving  and  Increas- 
ing people. 

'  Most  of  these  names  are  still  to  be  found  on  the  map  of  this 
county. 


156  The  Forest  Primeval 

"By  Nan-sa-mond.  Men-heer-ing,  has  about 
thirty  bowmen,  who  keep  at  a  stand. 

*' Nan-sa-mond.  About  thirty  bowmen:  They 
have  increased  much  of  late. 

"In  King  Wilham  County,  2.'  Pa-mun-kie 
has  about  forty  bowmen,  who  decrease. 

"  Chick- a-hom-o-nie,  which  had  about  sixteen 
bowmen,  but  lately  increased. 

*Tn  Essex.  Rap-pa-han-nock  is  reduced  to  a  few 
families,  and  live  scattered  upon  the  English  seats. 

"In  Richmond.  Port-Ta-ba-go  has  about  five 
bowmen,  but  wasting. 

"In  Northumberland.  Wic-co-com-o-co  has 
but  three  men  living,  which  yet  keep  up  their 
kingdom  and  retain  their  fashion;  they  live  by 
themselves,  separate  from  all  other  Indians,  and 
from  the  English."^ 

In  1705,  when  Beverley  wrote  this,  only  some 
twenty-odd  of  about  one  hundred  and  sixty 
counties  which  were  formed  in  what  was  once 
Virginia's  territory  were  in  existence.  He  is 
therefore  speaking  only  of  those  in  the  eastern 
portion  of  the  Colony.  The  names  he  mentions 
are,  as  a  rule,  those  of  the  tribes,  as  well  as  the 
names  of  the  towns  which  they  inhabited. 

The  Indian  villages  were  situated  at  points 
of  advantage  which  in  many  instances  seem  to 
have  been  recognized  and  adopted  by  the  Vir- 
ginians as  the  sites  of  their  towns;  thus,  there 
was  on  the  site  of 

*  Two  towns  of  the  Pa-mun-key  tribe. 
■Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  62-3. 


The  Towns  Located  157 

Richmond,  Powhatan; 

Norfolk,  Ski-co-ak; 
Petersburg,  Ap-pa-ma-tuck; 
Alexandria,  As-sa-o-meck; 
Fredericksburg,  Sock-o-beck; 
Hampton,  Ke-cough-tan; 
Suffolk,  Man-tough-que-me-o; 
Cape  Charles,  Ac-cow-mack,  and 
Smithfield,  War-ros-quy-oake. 

At  least,  if  these  cities  be  not  on  the  very  sites 
of  these  Indian  villages,  they  are  very  near  them. 

Many  of  the  fine  estates  in  Virginia  also  occupy 
such  village  sites.  These  presented  the  advan- 
tage of  being  always  fertile  ground  from  which 
the  forest  had,  to  some  extent,  been  cleared 
away,  and  fields  ready  for  further  cultivation. 

The  first  settlers  on  Roanoke  Island  mention 
the  following  Indian  towns: 

Ski-co-ak,  mentioned  as  a  great  city.  Its 
location  on  the  early  maps  would  indicate  that 
it  occupied  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Nor- 
folk. It  will  be  mentioned  again  more  fully 
later  on  in  connection  with  the  Chesapeake  tribe. 

Ro-a-noke,  at  the  north  end  of  the  island  of 
that  name,  a  village  of  nine  houses,  built  of  cedar 
and  fortified  with  a  palisade. 

Pom-e-i-ock,  on  Pamlico  Sound,  in  Hyde 
County,  east  of  Lake  Mattamuskeet. 

We  know  this  town  well,  a  picture  of  the  same 
being  given  to  us  by  John  White. 


158  The  Forest  Primeval 

Pas-que-noke,  located  probably  at  the  south- 
east end  of  Camden  County,  on  Albemarle 
Sound. 

Chep-a-now,  or  Chep-a-nock,  in  Perquimans 
County,  on  the  north  shore  of  Albemarle  Sound. 

Mas-com-ing  in  Chowan  County.  The  name 
is  also  written  Mus-ca-mun-ge.  It  was  prob- 
ably on  the  site  of  Edenton. 

War-a-tan,  in  the  same  county,  a  little  farther 
up  the  Chowan  on  the  east  side. 

Cat-o-kin-ge,  farther  up  the  same  river,  at 
the  southern  extremity  of  Gates  County,  at  the 
fork  of  the  streams. 

0-hau-nook,  farther  up  the  same  stream,  on  its 
west  side,  in  Hertford  County,  or  lower  down  in 
Bertie. 

Ram-us-how-og,  still  farther  up  the  Chowan, 
probably  just  north  of  its  confluence  with  Kirby's 
Creek. 

Met-pow-em,  in  Bertie  County,  lower  down  on 
the  west  side  of  the  Chowan  facing  Albemarle 
Sound,  and  near  the  mouth  of  Roanoke  River. 
It  is  also  called  Me-tack-wem. 

Chaw-a-nook,  whose  lord  was  Po-o-nens,  in 
Chowan  County,  on  the  east  side  of  Chowan 
River,  probably  on  the  site  of  the  present 
Chowan. 

Tan-da-quo-muc  in  the  same  county  and 
neighborhood,  a  little  up  the  Roanoke  River,  on 
its  north  side. 

Mor-a-tuc  in  the  same  county,  a  little  farther 
up  the  Roanoke  River. 


The  Towns  Located  159 

Me-quo-pen  in  Washington  County,  possibly 
on  Mackay's  Creek. 

Tram-as-que-coock  in  Tyrrell,  on  the  west 
side  of  Alligator  River. 

Das-a-mon-que-pe-uc  in  Dare  County,  on 
Croatan  Sound,  opposite  the  northern  end  of 
Roanoke  Island. 

A-gus-cog-oc  in  Hyde  County,  west  of  Pom- 
e-i-ock,  on  Rose  Bay. 

Co-tan  in  Hyde  County  on  the  east  side  of 
Pungo  River. 

Se-co-ta  in  Beaufort  County,  on  the  point  of 
land  between  the  Pamlico  and  Pungo  rivers. 

This  is  said  to  have  been  the  southernmost 
town  ruled  by  Win-gi-na.^  We  are  fortunate  in 
having  also  a  picture  of  this  place. 

Sec-tu-o-oc  in  Pamlico  County  somewhere 
between  the  mouths  of  the  Pamlico  and  Neuse 
rivers,  on  Pamlico  Sound. 

Pan-a-wa-i-oc  in  Beaufort  County,  on  the 
south  side  of  Pamlico  River. 

New-si-oc  in  Carteret  County,  on  the  south 
side  near  the  mouth  of  the  Neuse. 

Gwa-rew-oc  also  in  Carteret  County,  on  Bogue 
Sound. 

Hat-or-ask  on  the  sea-coast  near  Loggerhead 
Inlet. 

Pa-qui-woc  on  the  coast,  near  Cape  Hat- 
teras. 

Cro-a-to-an  on  the  coast  between  Hatteras 
and  0-cra-coke  Inlet. 

'  Hakluyt,  vol.  ii.,  p.  283  et  seq. 


i6o  The  Forest  Primeval 

Wo-ko-kon  on  the  coast,  south  of  0-cra-coke 
Inlet. 

Two  names  of  regions  are  given  in  John 
White's  map,  by  which  chart  the  above  towns 
have  been  thus  attempted  to  be  localized  to  some 
degree,  Se-co-tan,  which  would  appear  to  be  the 
territory  between  the  Pamlico  River  and  Albe- 
marle Sound,  and  We-a-pe-me-oc,  which  would 
include  all  from  Albemarle  Sound  to  Chesa- 
peake Bay. 

This  map,  which  was  drawn  by  John  White, 
was  engraved  by  de  Bry,  and  is  often  spoken  of 
as  de  Bry's  map  of  Lane's  Expedition.  The 
map  here  given  is  based  upon  it. 


I 


CHAPTER  X 

THE    FALLS    OF   THE    JAMES 

THE  "Fallsof  the  James''  are  so  often  men- 
tioned by  the  early  writers,  that  it  will 
not  be  out  of  place  to  say  a  word  about 
their  origin.  In  an  interesting  paper  Mr.  W.  J. 
McGee,  after  tracing  the  successive  changes 
through  which  the  eastern  coast  of  the  United 
States  has  passed,  the  lowering  and  rising  of  the 
land,  sometimes  below  the  level  of  the  ocean, 
and  then  again  above  it,  the  advance  and  retreat 
of  the  ice-sheet  which  once  covered  the  north- 
ern part  of  Virginia,  he  says: 

"With  the  retreat  of  the  great  ice-sheet  the 
land  rose  slowly  and  the  waters  gradually  re- 
treated until  the  previous  configuration  of  the 
land  and  sea  was  in  part  restored;  but  the  face 
of  the  emerging  land  was  changed.  Not  only 
was  the  surface  mantled  and  the  valleys  clogged 
with  sediments,  but  the  country  was  cleft  for 
300  miles  by  a  profound  break  or  displacement 
by  which  the  lowlands  were  lowered  and  the 
uplands  lifted.  This  displacement  of  the  surface 
and  the  strata  extends  from  the  Potomac  to  the 
Hudson,  and  every  river  crosses  it  in  a  cascade; 
II  161 


i62  The  Forest  Primeval 

and  the  displacing  is  yet  in  progress — so  slowly, 
it  is  true,  that  man  has  scarcely  measured  its 
rate,  but  so  rapidly  that  the  ever-busy  rivers 
are  unable  to  keep  pace  with  it,  and  either  cut 
down  their  upland  gorges  to  tide  level  or  silt^ 
up  their  lowland  estuaries."^ 

And  again: 

"Through  the  Potomac  valley  passes  one  of 
the  most  strongly  marked  geologic  and  cultural^ 
boundaries  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  It  was  the 
shore-line  during  the  later  part  of  the  Potomac 
period,"^  and  again  during  the  eons  of  Cretaceous ^ 
and  early  Tertiary^  deposition;  it  was  again  a 
shore-line  during  the  first  ice-invasion,  the 
deposition  of  the  Columbia  gravels'  and  brick 
clays,  and  the  fashioning  of  the  Columbia* 
terraces;  and  it  Vv^as  the  line  of  earth-fracture  by 
which  the  coastal  lowlands  are  dropped  below 
the  Piedmont  uplands.  It  is  known  to  students 
of  modern  manufactures  as  the  fall-line  because 
along  it  the  rivers  descend  as  abruptly  as  the 
land;  and  it  is  even  more  notable  as  a  line  of 
deflection   than   as   one   of  declivity  in   rivers. 


*  Fill  up  with  sediment. 

» An  arm  or  inlet  of  the  sea,  particularly  one  which  is  covered  with 
water  only  at  high  tide. 

3  Relating  to  mental  culture. 

■*  The  geological  period  during  which  the  Potomac  River  was  being 
defined. 

5  This  geologic  term  relates  to  the  chalk  which  was  a  character- 
istic of  the  period. 

6  The  word  signified  third  in  order  of  formation. 

7  A  soil  characteristic  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

8  This  relates  to  the  District  of  Columbia. 


The  Falls  of  the  James  163 

"The  great  waterways  of  the  Middle  Atlantic 
slope  maintain  their  courses  through  Appala- 
chian ranges  and  Piedmont  hills  alike;  but  on 
reaching  the  coastal  lowlands  they  are  turned 
aside  literally  by  a  sand  bank  little  higher  than 
their  depth,  and  thence  hug  the  upland  margin 
for  scores  of  miles  before  finally  finding  their  way 
into  the  ocean.  So  the  coastal  lowlands  are 
nearly  isolated  by  the  tidal  bays  and  river- 
elbows  along  their  inner  margin.  Measured 
along  the  fall-line  the  Hudson  is  barred  from  the 
Rappahannock,  300  miles  southward,  by  only  60 
miles  of  land  and  unnavigable  water.  This  re- 
markable physiography^  is  now  and  ever  has 
been  reflected  in  the  culture  of  the  region. 

"The  pioneer  settlers  of  the  country  ascended 
the  tidal  canals  to  the  falls  of  the  rivers,  where 
they  found,  sometimes  within  a  mile,  clear,  fresh 
water,  the  game  of  the  hills  and  woodlands,  and 
the  fish  and  fowl  of  the  estuaries,  and,  as  the 
population  increased,  abundant  water-power  and 
excellent  mill-sites,  easy  ferriage,  and  practic- 
able bridge-sites;  here  the  pioneer  settlements 
and  villages  were  located;  and  across  the  necks 
of  the  inter-estuarine  peninsulas  the  pioneer 
routes  of  travel  were  extended  from  settlement 
to  settlement  until  the  entire  Atlantic  slope  was 
traversed  by  a  grand  social  and  commercial 
artery  stretching  from  New  England  to  the  Gulf 
States. 

"As  the  population  grew  and  spread,  the  set- 

*  Physical  geography. 


164  The  Forest  Primeval 

tlements,  villages,  and  towns  along  the  line  of 
Nature's  selection  waxed,  and  many  of  them 
yet  retain  their  early  prestige;  and  the  early 
stage-route  has  become  a  great  metropolitan 
railway  and  telegraph  route  connecting  North 
and  South  as  they  were  connected  of  old  in  more 
primitive  fashion.  And  just  as  these  natural 
conditions  influenced  the  white  invader,  so,  and 
even  more  strongly,  must  they  have  influenced 
the  migrations,  settlements,  industries,  and 
character  of  the  aboriginal  monarchs  of  the 
Potomac  waters  and  woodlands."' 

^  The  American  Anthropologist,  July,  1889,  vol.  xi.,  pp.  231,  233-4, 


CHAPTER  XI 

POLITICAL    LAWS    AND    THE    ART    OF    WAR 

STRACHEY  gives  us  the  best  account  of 
the  poHtical  construction  of  Indian  so- 
ciety. That  construction  appears  at 
once  upon  investigation  to  have  been  thoroughly 
organized  and  essentially  aristocratic.  Over  all 
was  Powhatan.  The  English  called  him  an  Em- 
peror because  he  ruled  over  so  many  kings, 
for  each  town  had  its  king,  as  the  English 
called  them.  The  Indians  called  them  wer-6- 
ances.  They  exercised  despotic  power  over  their 
kingdoms. 

Then  there  was  a  power  behind  the  kings — 
the  priests  and  conjurers,  who  In  many  respects 
ruled  the  kings. 

There  was  thus  no  lack  of  government  In  the 
forest,  but  It  was  of  the  arbitrary  and  tyrannical 
sort. 

Turning  to  the  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Vir^ 
ginia,  we  are  told: 

"The  great  king  Powhatan  hath  divided  his 
country  Into  many  provinces  or  shires  (as  It 
were),  and  over  every  one  placed  a  several  abso- 
lute wer-6-ance  or  commander,  to  him  contrlbu- 
165 


1 66  The  Forest  Primeval 

tary  to  govern  the  people,  there  to  Inhabit;  and 
his  petty  wer-6-ances,  in  all,  may  be  in  number 
about  three  or  four  and  thirty,  all  which  have 
their  precincts  and  bounds,  proper  and  commo- 
diously  appointed  out,  that  no  one  intrude  upon 
the  other  of  several  forces;  and  for  the  ground 
wherein  each  one  soweth  his  corn,  plant  his 
ap-oke'  and  garden  fruits,  he  tithes^  to  the  great 
king  of  all  the  commodities  growing  in  the  same, 
or  of  what  else  his  shire  brings  forth,  appertaining 
to  the  lands  or  rivers,  corn,  beasts,  pearl,  foul, 
fish,  hides,  furs,  copper,  beads,  by  what  means 
soever  obtained,  a  peremptory  rate. "  ^ 

The  despotic  rule  of  Powhatan  and  of  the 
lesser  Indian  kings,  as  the  early  settlers  always 
called  them,  is  thus  stated  by  Strachey: 

"Nor  have  they  positive  laws,  only  the  law 
whereby  he  ruleth  is  custom;  yet  when  he  pleas- 
eth,  his  will  is  a  law,  and  must  be  obeyed,  not 
only  as  a  king,  but  as  half  a  god,  his  people 
esteem  him  so;  his  inferior  kings  are  tied  likewise 
to  rule  by  like  customs,  and  have  permitted  them 
power  of  life  and  death  over  their  people,  as  their 
command  in  that  nature.""* 

"There  is  a  civil  government  among  them 
which  they  strictly  observe,  and  show  thereby 
that  the  law  of  nature  dwelleth  in  them;  for  they 
have  a  rude  kind  of  commonwealth  and  rough 

'  Tobacco.  ^  Pays  part  as  taxes. 

3  Strachey,  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  55. 

"I  This  probably  means  that  their  jurisdiction  derived  from  Pow- 
hatan extended  even  to  life  and  death.  Historie  of  Travaile  into 
Virginia,  p.  70. 


Political  Laws  and  the  Art  of  War  167 

government,  wherein  they  both  honor  and  obey 
their  king,  parents,  and  governors,  both  greater 
and  lesser."  So  wrote  the  Rev.  Alexander 
Whittaker,  from  Henrico,  in  1613.^ 

The  taxes  levied  by  the  autocratic  ruler  of 
the  forest  were  very  oppressive.  Describing  the 
governmental  system  Strachey  says: 

"Every  wer-6-ance  knoweth  his  own  meeres 
and  limits"  to  fish,  foul,  or  hunt  in  (as  before 
said),  but  they  hold  all  of  their  great  wer-6-ance 
Powhatan,  unto  whom  they  pay  eight  parts  of 
ten  tribute  of  all  the  commodities  which  their 
country  yieldeth,  as  of  wheat,  peas,  beans,  eight 
measures  of  ten  (and  these  measured  out  in 
little  cades  or  backets,  which  the  great  king 
appoints),  of  the  dying-roots,  eight  measures  of 
ten  of  all  sorts  of  skins,  and  furs  eight  of  ten; 
and  so  he  robs  the  people,  in  effect,  of  all  they 
have,  even  to  the  deer's  skin  wherewith  they 
cover  them  from  cold,  in  so  much  as  they  dare  not 
dress  it  and  put  it  on  until  he  has  seen  it  and 
refused  it,  for  what  he  commandeth  they  dare 
not  disobey  in  the  least  thing.  "^ 

"The  Indians  having  no  sort  of  letters  among 
them,  as  has  been  before  observed,  they  can 
have  no  written  laws ;  nor  did  the  constitution 
in  which  we  found  them,  seem  to  need  many. 
Nature  and  their  own  convenience  having  taught 
them  to  obey  one  chief,  who  is  arbiter  of  all 

'  Purchas,  vol.  iv.,  p.  1771. 

^  "Meeres  and  limits"  mean  seas  or  waters  in  which  to  fish,  and 
the  boundaries  allowed  them  on  land  for  hunting. 
i  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  81. 


i68  The  Forest  Primeval 

things  among  them.  They  claim  no  property 
in  lands,  but  they  are  in  common  to  a  whole 
nation.  Every  one  hunts  and  fishes  and  gathers 
fruits  in  all  places.  Their  labor  in  tending  corn, 
pompions,'  melons,  etc,  is  not  so  great,  that  they 
need  quarrel  for  room,  where  the  land  is  so  fertile 
and  where  so  much  lies  uncultivated. 

"They  are  very  severe  in  punishing  ill-breed- 
ing, of  which  every  wer-6-ance  is  undisputed 
judge,  who  never  fails  to  lay  a  rigorous  penalty 
upon  it.  An  example  whereof  I  had  from  a  gen- 
tleman who  was  an  eye-witness;  which  was  this: 

"In  the  time  of  Bacon's  Rebellion,  one  of 
these  wer-6-ances,  attended  by  several  others  of 
his  nation,  was  treating  with  the  English  in  New 
Kent  County,  about  a  peace;  and  during  the 
time  of  his  speech,  one  of  his  attendants  pre- 
sumed to  interrupt  him,  which  he  resented  as 
the  most  unpardonable  affront  that  could  be 
offered  him;  and  therefore  he  instantly  took  his 
tomahawk  from  his  girdle,  and  split  the  fellow's 
head,  for  his  presumption.  The  poor  fellow 
dying  immediately  upon  the  spot,  he  commanded 
some  of  his  men  to  carry  him  out,  and  went  on 
again  with  his  speech  where  he  left  off,  as  un- 
concerned as  if  nothing  had  happened. 

"The  titles  of  honor  that  I  have  observed 
among  them  peculiar  to  themselves,  are  only 
cock-a-rouse,  and  wer-6-ance,  besides  that  of 
the  king  and  queen;  but  of  late  they  have 
borrowed  some  titles  from  us,  which  they  bestow 

» Pumpkins. 


Political  Laws  and  the  Art  of  War  169 

among  themselves.  A  cock-a-rouse  is  one  that 
has  the  honor  to  be  of  the  king  or  queen's  council 
with  relation  to  the  affairs  of  the  government, 
and  has  a  great  share  in  the  administration. 
A  wer-6-ance  is  a  military  officer,  who  of  course 
takes  upon  him  the  command  of  all  parties, 
either  of  hunting,  traveling,  waring,  or  the  like, 
and  the  word  signified  a  war  captain. 

"They  also  have  people  of  a  rank  inferior  to 
the  commons,  a  sort  of  servant  among  them. 
These  are  called  black  boys,  and  are  attendant 
upon  the  gentry,  to  do  their  servile  offices,  which, 
in  their  state  of  nature,  are  not  many.  For 
they  live  barely  up  to  the  present  relief  of  their 
necessities,  and  make  all  things  easy  and  comfort- 
able to  themselves,  by  the  indulgence  of  a  kind 
climate,  without  toiling  and  perplexing  their 
mind  for  riches,  which  other  people  often  trouble 
themselves  to  provide  for  uncertain  and  un- 
grateful heirs.  In  short,  they  seem,  as  possessing 
nothing,  and  yet  enjoying  all  things."' 

The  wer-6-ances  exercised  all  the  highest  rights 
of  the  various  tribes,  even  extending  to  the  aliena- 
tion of  the  soil  itself  upon  which  they  lived.  In 
the  various  conveyances  of  territory  made  by 
the  Indians  as  the  result  of  treaties  with  the 
English,  it  is  the  chiefs  alone  who  execute  the 
deed;  the  subordinate  members  of  the  tribe  were 
not  recognized  by  them  as  having  any  say  in  the 
matter.  The  deed  made  by  the  chief  or  chiefs 
passed  an  indefeasible  title  to  the  whole. 

^  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  56-9. 


170  The  Forest  Primeval 

Strachey  said:  "Upon  Yough-ta-mund'  is  the 
seat  of  Powhatan's  three  brethren  whom  we 
learn  are  successively  to  govern  after  Powhatan, 
in  the  same  dominions  which  Powhatan  by  right 
of  birth,  as  the  elder  brother,  now  holds.  The 
rest  of  the  countries  under  his  command  are  (as 
they  report)  his  conquests.  "  ^ 

"I  can't  think  it  anything  but  their  jealousy 
that  makes  them  exclude  the  lineal  issue  from 
succeeding  immediately  to  the  crown.  Thus  if 
a  king  have  several  legitimate  children,  the  crown 
does  not  descend  in  a  direct  line  to  his  children, 
but  to  his  brother  by  the  same  mother,  if  he 
have  any,  and  for  want  of  such,  to  the  children 
of  his  eldest  sister,  always  respecting  the  descent 
by  the  female,  as  the  surer  side.  But  the  crown 
goes  to  the  male  heir  (if  any  be)  in  equal  degree, 
and  for  want  of  such,  to  the  female,  preferably 
to  any  male  that  is  more  distant. 

"As  in  the  beginning  of  a  war,  they  have  as- 
semblies for  consultation,  so  upon  any  victory, 
or  other  great  success,  they  have  public  meetings 
again,  for  processions  and  triumphs.  I  never 
saw  one  of  these,  but  have  heard  that  they  are 
accompanied  with  all  the  marks  of  a  wild  and 
extravagant  joy.  "^ 

With  reference  to  the  political  construction  of 
the  tribes,  and  the  offices  of  wer-6-ance  and 
sachem,  we  are  told: 


'  The  Pamunkey  River. 

'  Strachey,  Ilistorie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  36. 

s  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  25-6. 


Political  Laws  and  the  Art  of  War  171 

"The  sachem  amongst  all  the  tribes  was  a 
magistrate  either  hereditary  or  elective,  accord- 
ing to  their  various  customs,  but  in  all  cases 
without  tribute,  revenue  or  authority.  His 
duty  was  invariably  to  stay  at  home,  whilst  the 
war-chief,  who  was  elected  for  his  merit,  was 
fighting  at  the  head  of  his  warriors ;  to  preside  in 
the  great  council,  where  he  had  but  a  single  voice, 
and  in  the  absence  of  the  warriors  to  watch  over 
the  safety  of  the  aged,  the  women  and  children, 
an  office  of  so  little  estimation  that  amongst 
several  of  the  tribes  it  was  frequently  filled  by 
women. 

"A  fact  in  confirmation  of  this  is  related  by 
Charlevoix.  A  female  chief  of  one  of  the  tribes 
of  the  Hurons  made  repeated  attempts  in  council 
to  procure  the  admission  of  a  Christian  mission- 
ary, but  without  success. 

"Nor  is  it  the  sachem  only  that  is  without 
power  in  those  singular  communities.  There  is 
nothing  like  what  we  conceive  of  authority  any- 
where among  them.  Even  the  great  council  of 
the  nation  can  do  nothing  but  by  advice  or 
persuasion,  and  every  individual  is  at  liberty  to 
refuse  obedience  to  its  decisions. 

"Even  in  war  there  is  no  such  thing  as  an 
imperative  direction  from  a  general  to  his 
soldiers:  Yet  notwithstanding  this  uncontrolled 
license,  the  advice  of  the  chiefs  is  scarcely  ever 
rejected.'"' 

This  statement  of  a  later  writer,  with  reference 

'  Burk's  History  of  Virginia,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  64-5. 


172  The  Forest  Primeval 

to  the  powers  of  the  Indian  rulers,  is  not  borne 
out  by  the  earlier  writers,  who  represent  them 
as  despotic. 

Spelman  says:  "The  king  is  not  known  by  any 
difference  from  others  of  the  (better)  chief  sort 
in  the  country,  but  only  when  he  comes  to  any 
of  their  houses  they  present  him  with  copper 
beads  or  victual,  and  show  much  reverence  to 
him."^ 

He  further  says:  "Concerning  their  laws  my 
years  and  understanding  made  me  the  less  to 
look  after  because  I  thought  that  infidels^  were 
lawless,^  yet  when  I  saw  some  put  to  death  I 
asked  the  cause  of  their  offence,  for  in  the  time 
I  was  with  the  Patomecks  I  saw  5  executed,  4 
for  murder  of  a  child  {id  est)  the  mother  and  two 
others  that  did  the  fact  with  her,  and  a  fourth 
for  concealing  it  as  he  passed  by,  being  bribed 
to  hold  his  peace;  and  one  for  robbing  a  traveller 
of  copper  and  beads,  for  to  steal  their  neighbor's 
corn  or  copper  is  death,  or  to  lie  one  with 
another's  wife  is  death  if  he  be  taken  in  the 
manner. 

"Those  that  be  convicted  of  capital  offences 
are  brought  into  a  plain  place  before  the  king's 
house  where  then  he  lay,  which  was  at  Pamunkey, 
the  chiefest  house  he  hath,  where  one  or  two 

*  Spelman's  Relation  of  Virginia,  p.  52. 

2  A  favorite  way  of  regarding  the  savages.  This  lack  of  belief 
in  Christianity  was  often  viewed  as  of  itself  justifying  any  course 
with  regard  to  them  which  the  English  deemed  proper — the  infidels 
having  practically  no  rights  the  believers  were  bound  to  respect. 

3  Had  no  laws. 


Political  Laws  and  the  Art  of  War  173 

appointed  by  the  king  did  bind  them  hand  and 
foot,  which  being  done  a  great  fire  was  made. 
Then  came  the  ofhcer  to  those  that  should  die, 
and  with  a  shell  cut  off  their  long  lock,  which 
they  wear  on  the  left  side  of  their  head,  and  hang- 
eth  that  on  a  bow  before  the  king's  house. 
Then  those  for  murder  were  beaten  with  staves 
till  their  bones  were  broken  and  being  alive  w^re 
flung  into  the  fire;  the  other  for  robbing  was 
knocked  on  the  head  and  being  dead  his  body 
was  burned."' 

This  account  is  in  harmony  with  the  statement 
of  the  Rev.  Alexander  Whittaker,  who  says: 
"Murder  is  scarcely  heard  of;  adultery  and  other 
offences  severely  punished."^ 

"When  they  intend  any  wars,  the  wer-6-ances 
usually  have  the  advice  of  their  priests  and  con- 
jurers, and  their  allies,  and  ancient  friends,  but 
chiefly  the  priests  determine  their  resolution. 
Every  wer-6-ance,  or  some  lusty  fellow,  they 
appoint  captain  over  every  nation.  They  sel- 
dom make  war  for  lands  or  goods,  but  for  women 
and  children,  and  principally  for  revenge.  They 
have  many  enemies,  namely  all  their  westernly 
countries  beyond  the  mountains,  and  the  heads 
of  the  rivers."^ 

"For  their  wars  also  they  use  targets  that  are 

^  Spelman's  Relation  of  Virginia,  pp.  43-6. 

^  Purchas,  vol.  iv.,  p.  1771. 

3  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  134.  The  enemies  beyond  the  mountains  were 
the  Shaw-a-nees,  Cher-o-kees,  and  others;  those  at  the  heads  of  the 
rivers  were  the  Mon-a-cans,  the  Man-na-ho-acks,  the  Mas-sa-wo- 
mecks,  and  others. 


174  The  Forest  Primeval 

round  and  made  of  barks  of  trees,  and  a  sword 
of  wood  at  their  backs,  but  oftentimes  they  use 
for  swords  the  horn  of  a  deer  put  through  a 
piece  of  wood  in  form  of  a  pickaxe.  Some  a 
long  stone  sharpened  at  both  ends,  used  in  the 
same  manner."' 

"These  men  are  not  so  simple  as  some  have 
supposed  them:  for  they  are  of  body  lusty,  strong 
and  very  nimble:  they  are  a  very  understanding 
generation,  quick  of  apprehension,  sudden  in 
their  dispatches,  subtile  in  their  deahngs,  ex- 
quisite in  their  inventions,  and  industrious  in 
their  labor.  I  suppose  the  world  hath  no  better 
marksmen  with  their  bows  and  arrows  than  they 
be;  they  will  kill  birds  flying,  fish  swimming,  and 
beasts  running:  they  shoot  also  with  marvelous 
strength,  they  shot  one  of  our  men  being  un- 
armed quite  through  the  body,  and  nailed  both 
his  arms  to  his  body  with  one  arrow."" 

By  being  unarmed,  the  writer  means  that  the 
man  did  not  have  on  armor. 

Their  method  of  summoning  the  warriors  was 
very  original.  Strachey  says:  "When  they 
would  press ^  a  number  of  soldiers  to  be  ready  by 
a  day,  an  officer  is  dispatched  away,  who  coming 
into  the  towns,  or  otherwise  meeting  such  whom 
he  hath  order  to  warn,'^  to  strike  them  over  the 
back  a  sound  blow  with  a  bastinado,  and  bids 
them  be  ready  to  serve  the  great  king,  and  tells 


'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  132. 

'  Alexander  Whittaker  in  Purchas,  vol.  iv.,  p.  1771. 

3  Impress.  ■•  Summon. 


Political  Laws  and  the  Art  of  War  175 

them  the  rendezvous,  from  whence  they  dare  not 
at  any  time  appointed  be  absent."' 

"When  they  are  about  to  undertake  any  war 
or  other  solemn  enterprise,  the  king  summons 
a  convention  of  his  great  men,  to  assist  at  a  grand 
council,  which  in  their  language  is  called  a  match- 
a-com-o-co.  At  these  assemblies  'tis  the  custom, 
especially  when  a  war  is  expected,  for  the  young 
men  to  paint  themselves  irregularly  with  black, 
red,  white,  and  several  other  motley  colors,  mak- 
ing one-half  of  their  face  red,  (for  instance) 
and  the  other  half  black  or  white,  with  great 
circles  of  a  different  hue,  round  their  eyes;  with 
monstrous  mustaches,  and  a  thousand  fantas- 
tical figures,  all  over  the  rest  of  their  body; 
and  to  make  themselves  appear  yet  more  ugly 
and  frightful,  they  strow  feathers,  down,  or  the 
hair  of  beasts,  upon  the  paint  while  it  is  still 
moist,  and  capable  of  making  those  light  sub- 
stances stick  fast  on.  When  they  are  thus 
formidably  equipped,  they  rush  into  the  match- 
a-com-o-co,  and  instantly  begin  some  very  gro- 
tesque dance,  holding  their  arrows,  or  tomahawks 
in  their  hands,  and  all  the  while  singing  the 
ancient  glories  of  their  nation,  and  especially  of 
their  own  families;  threatening  and  making  signs 
with  their  tomahawk,  what  a  dreadful  havoc  they 
intend  to  make  amongst  their  enemies. 

"Notwithstanding  these  terrible  airs  they  give 
themselves,  they  are  very  timorous  when  they 
come  to  action,  and  rarely  perform  any  open  or 

'  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  lOO. 


176  The  Forest  Primeval 

bold  feats;  but  the  execution  they  do,  is  chiefly 
by  surprise  and  ambuscade. 

"The  fearfulness  of  their  nature  makes  them 
very  jealous  and  implacable.  Hence  it  is,  that 
when  they  get  a  victory,  they  destroy  man, 
woman  and  child,  to  prevent  all  future  resent- 
ments."' 

Spelman,  an  eye-witness  to  a  battle  between 
two  of  the  native  tribes,  says : 

"As  for  armor  or  discipline  in  war  they  have 
not  any.  The  weapons  they  use  for  offence  are 
bows  and  arrows  with  a  weapon  like  a  hammer 
and  their  tomahawks,  for  defence  which  are 
shields  made  of  the  bark  of  a  tree  and  hanged 
on  their  left  shoulder  to  cover  that  side  as  they 
stand  forth  to  shoot. 

"They  never  fight  in  open  fields,  but  always 
either  among  reeds  or  behind  trees  taking  their 
opportunity  to  shoot  at  their  enemies  and  till 
they  can  nocke^  another  arrow  they  make  the 
trees  their  defence. 

"In  the  time  that  I  was  there  I  saw  a  battle 
fought  between  the  Pa-to-meck  and  the  Ma-so- 
meck;  their  place  where  they  fought  was  a  marsh 
ground  full  of  reeds.  Being  in  the  country  of 
the  Pa-to-meck  the  people  of  Ma-so-meck  were 
brought  thither  in  canoes  which  is  a  kind  of 
boat  they  have  made  in  the  form  of  a  hog's 
trough,  but  somewhat  more  hollowed  in.  On 
both  sides  they  scatter  themselves  some  little 

'  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  24-5. 

2  Fit  the  arrow  to  the  string  of  their  bow. 


Political  Laws  and  the  Art  of  War  177 

distance  one  from  the  other;  then  take  they  their 
bows  and  arrows  and  having  made  ready  to 
shoot,  they  softly  steal  toward  their  enemies, 
sometimes  squatting  down  and  prying  if  they 
can  spy  any  to  shoot  at,  whom,  if  at  any  time 
he  so  hurteth  that  he  cannot  flee,  they  make 
haste  to  him  to  knock  him  on  the  head.  And 
they  that  kill  most  of  their  enemies  are  held  the 
chiefest  men  among  them. 

"Drums  and  trumpets  they  have  none,  but 
w  hen  they  will  gather  themselves  together  they 
have  a  kind  of  howling  or  howbabub  so  differing 
in  sound  one  from  the  other  as  both  parts  may 
very  easily  be  distinguished. 

"There  was  no  great  slaughter  of  either  side, 
but  the  Ma-so-mecks  having  shot  away  most  of 
their  arrows,  and  wanting  victual,  were  glad  to 
retire."  ' 

"The  order  and  deportment  of  an  Indian 
assembly  would  not  have  disgraced  the  gravity 
and  dignity  of  a  Roman  senate;  and  the  effect 
produced  upon  a  spectator,  who  is  unacquainted 
with  their  language  and  even  prejudiced  against 
them,  is  in  the  highest  degree  impressive.  Nor 
is  this  effect  produced  by  the  grandeur  of  archi- 
tecture or  the  splendor  of  dress.  The  council  is 
a  large  square  space  covered  with  rough  boards; 
and  the  councilors  dirty  savages  wrapped  in 
skins  and  coarse  blankets.  It  arises  from  the 
patience,  the  temper,  the  animation,  the  regular- 

'  Spelman's  Relation  oj  Virginia,  pp.  54-6. 


178  The  Forest  Primeval 

Ity,  and  even  the  eloquence  of  their  action  and 
deportment.  There  we  witness  no  impatience 
nor  contradiction;  no  ebuUitions  of  passions; 
no  bursts  of  rage  and  invective;  no  factious 
intrigues.  The  whole  subject  is  fairly  and  hon- 
estly before  them,  and  it  is  discussed  with  the 
patient  judgment  of  sages  and  the  animated 
integrity  of  patriots.  An  interruption  would 
be  considered  as  an  unpardonable  insult:  per- 
haps it  would  not  be  too  much  to  say  that  there 
never  was  any  such  thing  known  as  an  interrup- 
tion in  an  Indian  assembly."' 

"They  use  formal  embassies  for  treating,  and 
very  ceremonious  ways  in  concluding  of  peace, 
or  else  some  other  memorable  action,  such  as 
burying  a  tomahawk,  and  raising  an  heap  of 
stones  thereon,  as  the  Hebrews  did  over  Absalom, 
or  of  planting  a  tree,  in  token  that  all  enmity  is 
buried  with  the  tomahawk,  that  all  the  desola- 
tions of  war  are  at  an  end,  and  that  friendship 
shall  flourish  among  them  like  a  tree."^ 

In  the  many  negotiations  which  Virginia  had 
with  various  Indian  tribes  and  nations,  our 
people  soon  learned  the  necessity  of  adopting 
the  forms  and  ceremonies  of  the  Indians,  and 
accustomed  themselves  to  use  the  highly 
figurative  language  of  this  people. 

As  far  as  in  them  lay  they  therefore  adopted 
their  metaphors.  In  the  negotiations  prelimin- 
ary  to   the   concluding   a   formal   treaty,    they 

'  Burk's  History  of  Virginia,  vol.  iii.,  p.  66. 
=  Beverley,  book  3,  p.  27. 


Political  Laws  and  the  Art  of  War  179 

smoked  cal-u-mets;  they  called  the  Indians 
brothers;  they  brightened  the  chain  of  friend- 
ship with  them ;  they  hoped  it  would  be  no  more 
stained  with  blood,  nor  rusted  with  contention, 
nor  broken  asunder  with  discord,  but  that  it 
would  last  as  long  as  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the 
stars  gave  light. 

In  the  progress  of  these  treaties,  strings  of 
wam-pum,  in  order  to  emphasize  the  less,  and 
belts  of  wam-pum  to  emphasize  the  more,  impor- 
tant matters,  were  freely  given  by  the  Indians. 
It  was  customary,  and  so  the  Virginians  made 
similar  presents  to  emphasize  and  act  as  re- 
minders of  the  propositions  advanced  by  them. 
Indeed,  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  make  these 
presents,  and  so,  at  a  treaty  held  at  Shen-a-pin 
Town  in  May,  1752,  it  is  recorded  that:  "The 
Commissioners  not  having  any  wam-pum  strung, 
without  which  answers  could  not  be  returned, 
acquainted  the  Indians  that  they  would  answer 
their  speeches  in  the  afternoon,  on  which  the 
council  broke  up."  Having  provided  themselves 
by  that  time  with  this  requisite,  the  negotiations 
were  then  continued. 

A  string  of  wampum  was  given  to  the  Virgin- 
ians to  enable  them  to  see  the  sun  clearly,  and 
to  look  upon  the  Indians  as  brothers;  another 
to  clear  their  voices  so  that  they  could  speak 
clearly  to  the  Indians;  another  by  Queen  Al-li- 
guip-pe  to  clear  their  way  to  Loggs  Town; 
another  to  clear  their  hearts  from  any  impression 
that  might  have  been  made  on  them  by  flying 


i8o  The  Forest  Primeval 

report,  or  111  news;  and  that  they  might  speak 
their  minds  freely.  The  way  being  long  and  the 
day  hot,  a  string  was  given  them  to  wipe  ofif 
their  perspiration. 

Aside  from  these  courtesies,  and  expressions 
of  wishes  and  hopes,  all  the  salient  features  of 
the  debate  were  thus  marked. 

The  Virginians  gave  the  Indians  a  string  of 
wam-pum  to  receive  their  brethren  of  Virginia 
kindly,  and  so  on  through  the  various  phases  of 
the  negotiation,  all  of  which  were  very  deliberate. 
No  hasty  rephes  were  made  by  the  Indians.  At 
any  time,  on  an  important  matter  coming  up 
which  they  had  not  foreseen  and  about  which 
they  were  not  agreed,  the  meeting  would  be 
adjourned,  and  time  taken  by  the  Indians  for 
private  consultation  before  giving  their  answers. 

One  object  of  such  a  treaty,  as  stated  by  them, 
was  to  make  the  road  between  us  and  the  In- 
dians clearer  and  wider. 

Approbation  to  propositions  of  importance, 
emphasized  thus  by  the  gift  of  a  string  or  a  belt 
of  wam-pum,  was  expressed  on  the  part  of  the 
Indians  by  a  shout,  or  cry,  the  Jo-hah,  as  It  was 
called. 

An  Illustration  of  the  Indian  love  of  metaphor 
is  given  In  the  speech  of  Can-as-a-tee-go,  de- 
livered on  June  26,  1744,  at  Lancaster,  Pennsyl- 
vania, during  the  debate  on  the  treaty  pending 
between  Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and 
the  Six  Nations.  Speaking  of  the  affection- 
ate   regard    the    Indians   had   for    the    Dutch, 


Political  Laws  and  the  Art  of  War  i8i 

the  Indian  chieftain  said:  "We  were  so  well 
pleased  with  them,  that  we  tied  their  ship  to  the 
bushes  on  the  shore,  and  afterwards,  liking  them 
still  better,  the  longer  they  stayed  with  us,  and 
thinking  the  bushes  too  slender,  we  removed  the 
rope,  and  tied  it  to  the  trees,  and  as  the  trees 
were  liable  to  be  blown  down  by  high  winds,  or 
to  decay  of  themselves,  from  the  affection  we 
bore  them,  again  removed  the  rope,  and  tied  it 
to  a  strong  and  big  rock  (here  the  interpreter 
said  they  meant  the  0-nei-do  country) ;  and  not 
content  with  this,  for  its  further  security  we 
removed  the  rope  to  the  big  mountain  (here  the 
interpreter  said  they  meant  the  0-non-da-go 
country),  and  there  we  tied  it  very  fast,  and 
rolled  wam-pum  about  it;  and  to  make  it  still 
more  secure,  we  stood  upon  it,  to  defend  it,  and 
to  prevent  any  hurt  coming  to  it,  and  did  our 
best  endeavors,  that  it  might  remain  uninjured 
forever. " 

While  endowed  thus  by  nature  with  poetic 
forms  of  expression,  and  with  traits  of  character 
admirable  in  many  respects,  the  Indians  of  Vir- 
ginia were  as  blood-thirsty  savages  as  ever 
existed.  They  reflected  and  presented  all  the 
phases  of  barbarism.  They  scalped  their  ene- 
mies, when  dead,  and  practiced  upon  them, 
when  alive,  such  tortures  as  make  the  blood  run 
cold  when  we  read  of  them.  It  is  noticeable, 
however,  how  little  the  Indians  were  criticized 
in  this  regard  by  the  early  writers.  The  ex- 
planation is  found  in  the  fact  that  in  1607,  and 


1 82  The  Forest  Primeval 

for  many  years  thereafter,  torture  just  as  bad 
was  practiced  by  the  highly  civilized  nations  of 
Europe.  The  abolition  of  "cruel  and  unusual" 
punishments  is  a  blessing  of  a  comparatively 
recent  date. 

These  Indians,  while  terrible  fighters  in  their 
own  way,  were  not  capable  of  making  long  sus- 
tained sieges.  If  their  first  sudden  attack  on  a 
fortified  place  did  not  carry  it  by  assault  and 
the  defense  proved  vigorous,  in  a  compara- 
tively short  time  they  became  discouraged,  and 
abandoned  the  enterprise  for  a  more  favorable 
opportunity. 

Their  method  of  warfare  was  suited  to  the 
forest  in  which  they  lived,  and  many  of  their 
manoeuvres  were  adopted  by  our  men.  As 
they  fought  from  behind  trees  and  such  other 
shields,  so  did  the  Virginians.  We  met  them 
on  their  own  ground  and  fought  them  in  their 
own  manner.  In  this  way  we  won  the  battle 
of  Point  Pleasant,  while  a  contrary  course,  and 
the  adherence  to  tactics  unsuited  to  the  nature 
of  the  enemy  and  the  battle-field,  led  to  the  dread- 
ful slaughter  and  rout  of  Braddock's  defeat. 

So  well  did  the  Virginians  learn  the  warfare  of 
the  forest,  that  they  won  from  their  opponents 
the  fear  and  admiration  involved  in  the  name 
which  the  Indians  gave  them,  for  they  called 
the  Virginians  "The  Big  Knives.'* 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE    PRIESTLY   MEDICINE    MAN 

SPELMAN  gives  us  this  account  of  Indian 
medical  views  and  practices: 

"When  any  be  sick  among  them  their 
priest  comes  unto  the  party  whom  he  layeth  on  the 
ground  upon  a  mat  and  having  a  bowl  of  water, 
set  between  him  and  the  sick  party,  and  a  rattle 
by  it,  the  priest  kneeling  by  the  sick  man's  side 
dips  his  hand  into  the  bowl,  which  taking  up  full 
of  water,  he  sips  into  his  mouth,  spouting  it  out 
again,  upon  his  own  arms  and  breast,  then  takes 
he  the  rattle  and  with  one  hand  shakes  that,  and 
with  the  other,  he  beats  his  breast,  making  a 
great  noise,  which  having  done  he  easily  riseth,  as 
loath  to  wake  the  sick  body,  first  with  one  leg, 
then  with  the  other,  and  being  now  got  up,  he 
lesiurely  goeth  about  the  sick  man  shaking  his 
rattle  very  softly  over  all  his  body:  and  with  his 
hand  he  stroketh  the  grieved  parts  of  the  sick, 
then  doth  he  besprinkle  him  with  water,  mumb- 
ling certain  words  over  him,  and  so  for  that  time 
leaves  him. 

"But  if  he  be  wounded,  after  these  ceremonies 
done  unto  him,  he  with  a  little  flint  stone  gasheth 
183 


184  The  Forest  Primeval 

the  wound  making  it  to  run  and  bleed,  which  he, 
setting  his  mouth  unto  it,  sucks  out,  and  then 
appHes  a  certain  root  beaten  to  powder  unto  the 
sore."^ 

"Concerning  a  green  wound  caused  either  by 
the  stroke  of  an  axe,  or  sword,  or  such  sharp 
thing,  they  have  present  remedy  for,  of  the  juice 
of  certain  herbs;  howbeit  a  compound  wound  (as 
the  surgeons  call  it)  where,  beside  the  opening 
and  cutting  of  the  flesh,  any  rupture  is,  or  bone 
broken,  such  as  our  small  shot  make  upon  them, 
they  know  not  easily  how  to  cure,  and  therefore 
languish  in  the  misery  of  the  pain  thereof. 

"Old  ulcers  likewise,  and  putrified  hurts  are 
seldom  seen  cured  amongst  them:  howbeit,  to 
scarify^  a  swelling,  or  make  incision,  they  have 
a  kind  of  instrument  of  some  splinted  stone. 

"Every  spring  they  make  themselves  sick 
with  drinking  the  juice  of  a  root  which  they  call 
wigh-sac-an  and  water,  whereof  they  take  so 
great  a  quantity,  that  it  purgeth  them  in  a  very 
violent  manner,  so  that  in  three  or  four  days  after 
they  scarce  recover  their  former  health. 

"  Sometimes  they  are  sore  troubled  with 
dropsy,  swellings,  aches,  and  such  like  diseases, 
by  reason  of  their  uncleanness  and  foul  feeding; 
for  cure  whereof  they  build  a  stove  in  the  form 
of  a  dove  house,  with  mats  so  close,  that  a  few 
coals  therein  covered  with  a  pot  will  make  the 
patient  sweat  extremely. 

'  Spelman's  Relation  of  Virginia,  p.  40. 

'  To  scratch,  or  make  superficial  incisions. 


The  Priestly  Medicine  Man         185 

"For  swelling,  also,  they  use  small  pieces  of 
touchwood  in  the  form  of  cloves,  which,  pricking 
on  the  grief,  they  burn  close  to  the  flesh,  and 
from  thence  draw  the  corruption  with  their 
mouth. 

"They  have  many  professed  physicians,  who, 
with  their  charms  and  rattles,  with  an  infernal 
rout  of  words  and  actions,  will  seem  to  suck  their 
inward  grief  from  their  navels,  or  their  affected 
places;  but  concerning  our  chirugians'  they  are 
generally  so  conceited  of  them,  that  they  believe 
that  their  plasters  will  heal  any  hurt.  "^ 

*'The  Indians  are  not  subject  to  many  diseases, 
and  such  as  they  have,  generally  come  from 
excessive  heats,  and  sudden  colds,  which  they 
as  suddenly  get  away^  by  sweating.  But  if  the 
humour"^  happen  to  fix,^  and  make  a  pain  in  any 
particular  joint,  or  limb,  their  general  cure  then 
is  by  burning,  if  it  be  in  any  part  that  will  bear 
it;  their  method  of  doing  this  is  by  little  sticks 
of  lightwood,  the  coal  of  which  will  burn  like  a 
hot  iron;  the  sharp  point  of  this  they  run  into 
the  flesh,  and  having  made  a  sore,  keep  it  running 
till  the  humour  be  drawn  off;  or  else  they  take 
punck  (which  is  a  sort  of  a  soft  touchwood,^ 
cut  out  of  the  knots  of  oak  or  hickory  trees,  but 
the  hickory  affords  the  best),  this  they  shape  like 

'  Surgeons. 

^  Strachey,  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  lo8. 
3  Cure.  4  Bodily  fluid. 

s  Settle  in  one  place. 

^The  soft  white  or  yellowish  substance  into  which  wood  is  con- 
verted by  the  action  of  certain  fungi. 


1 86  The  Forest  Primeval 

a  cone  (as  the  Japanese  do  their  moxa'  for  the 
gout),  and  apply  the  basis  of  it  to  the  place 
affected.  They  set  fire  to  it,  letting  it  burn 
out  upon  the  part,  which  makes  a  running  sore 
effectually. 

"They  use  smoking  frequently  and  scarifying  ^ 
which,  like  the  Mexicans,  they  perform  with  a 
rattle-snake's  tooth.  They  seldom  cut  deeper 
than  the  epidermis,  by  which  means  they  give 
passage  to  those  sharp  waterish  humours,  that 
lie  between  the  two  skins,  and  cause  inflamma- 
tions. Sometimes  they  make  use  of  reeds  for 
cauterizing,  which  they  heat  over  the  fire,  till 
they  are  ready  to  flame,  and  then  apply  them, 
upon  a  piece  of  thin  wet  leather,  to  the  place 
aggrieved,  which  makes  the  heat  more  piercing. 

"Their  priests  are  always  physicians,  and  by 
the  method  of  their  education  in  the  priesthood, 
are  made  very  knowing  in  the  hidden  qualities 
of  plants,  and  other  natural  things,  which  they 
count  a  part  of  their  religion  to  conceal  from 
everybody,  but  from  those  that  are  to  succeed 
them  in  their  holy  function. 

"They  tell  us,  their  God  will  be  angry  with 
them  if  they  should  discover  that  part  of  their 
knowledge;  so  they  suffer  only  the  rattlesnake 
root^  to  be  known,  and  such  other  antidotes,  as 
must  be  immediately  applied;  because  their  doc- 


'  A  soft  downy  substance  prepared  from  the  young  leaves  of  a  plant 
of  this  name.     It  is  used  as  a  cautery. 
*  Scratching. 
3  A  plant  believed  at  one  time  to  be  a  cure  for  snake-bites. 


The  Priestly  Medicine  Man         187 

tors  can't  always  be  at  hand  to  remedy  those 
sudden  misfortunes,  which  generally  happen  in 
their  hunting  or  travelling. 

"The  physic  of  the  Indians  consists  for  the 
most  part  in  the  roots  and  barks  of  trees,  they 
very  rarely  using  the  leaves  either  of  herbs  or 
trees;  what  they  give  inwardly  they  infuse  in 
water,  and  what  they  apply  outwardly  they 
stamp  or  bruise,  adding  water  to  it,  if  it  has  not 
moisture  enough  of  itself;  with  the  thin  of  this 
they  bathe  the  part  affected,  then  lay  on  the 
thick,  after  the  manner  of  a  pultis, '  and  common- 
ly dress  round,  leaving  the  sore  place  bare. 

"They  take  great  delight  in  sweating,  and 
therefore  in  every  town  they  have  a  sweating- 
house,  and  a  doctor  is  paid  by  the  public  to  at- 
tend it.  They  commonly  use  this  to  refresh 
themselves,  after  they  have  been  fatigued  with 
hunting,  travel,  or  the  like,  or  else  when  they 
are  troubled  with  agues,  aches,  or  pains  in 
their  limbs. 

"Their  method  is  thus:  the  doctor  takes  three 
or  four  large  stones,  which  after  having  heated 
red  hot,  he  places  them  in  the  middle  of  the 
stove,  laying  on  them  some  of  the  inner  bark  of 
oak,  beaten  in  a  mortar,  to  keep  them  from 
burning.  This  being  done,  they  creep  in  six  or 
eight  at  a  time,  or  as  many  as  the  place  will  hold, 
and  then  close  up  the  mouth  of  the  stove,  which 
is  usually  made  like  an  oven,  in  some  bank  near 
the  water  side. 

» Poultice. 


1 88  The  Forest  Primeval 

"In  the  meanwhile,  the  doctor,  to  raise  a 
steam,  after  they  have  been  stewing  a  little 
while,  pours  cold  water  on  the  stones,  and 
now  and  then  sprinkles  the  men  to  keep  them 
from  fainting. 

"After  they  have  sweat  as  long  as  they  can  well 
endure  it,  they  sally  out,  and  (tho'  it  be  in  the 
depth  of  winter)  forthwith  plunge  themselves 
over  head  and  ears  in  cold  water,  which  instantly 
closes  up  the  pores,  and  preserves  them  from 
taking  cold. 

"  The  heat  being  thus  suddenly  driven  from  the 
extreme  parts  of  the  heart,  makes  them  a  little 
feeble  for  the  present,  but  their  spirits  rally 
again,  and  they  instantly  recover  their  strength, 
and  find  their  joints  as  supple  and  vigorous  as 
if  they  never  had  travelled,  or  been  indisposed. 
So  that  I  may  say  as  Bellonius  does  in  his  obser- 
vations on  the  Turkish  bagnios,'  all  the  crudities 
contracted  in  their  bodies  are  by  this  means 
evaporated  and  carried  off. 

"The  Muscovites^  and  Finlanders  are  said  to 
use  this  way  of  sweating  also.  *It  is  almost  a 
miracle,'  says  Olearius,  'to  see  how  their  bodies, 
accustomed  to,  and  hardened  by,  cold,  can  en- 
dure so  intense  a  heat,  and  how  that,  when  they 
are  not  able  to  endure  it  longer,  they  come  out  of 
the  stoves  as  naked  as  they  were  born,  both  men 
and  women,  and  plunge  into  cold  water,  or  cause 
it  to  be  poured  on  them.' 

"  The  Indians  also  pulverize  the  roots  of  a 

'  Bath-houses.  » Russians. 


The  Priestly  Medicine  Man        189 

kind  of  anchuse'  or  yellow  alkanet/ which  they 
call  puc-coon,  and  of  a  sort  of  wild  angelica,  ^ 
and  mixing  them  together  with  bear's  oil,  make 
a  yellow  ointment,  with  which,  after  they  have 
bathed,  they  anoint  themselves  capapee"^;  this 
supplies  the  skin,  renders  them  nimble  and 
active,  and  withal  so  closes  up  the  pores,  that 
they  lose  but  few  of  their  spirits  by  perspiration. 
Piso  relates  the  same  of  the  Brazilians,  and  my 
Lord  Bacon  asserts,  that  oil  and  fat  things  do 
no  less  conserve  the  substance  of  the  body,  than 
oil  colors  and  varnish  do  that  of  the  wood. 

"They  have  also  a  further  advantage  of  this 
ointment,  for  it  keeps  all  lice,  fleas,  and  other 
troublesome  vermin  from  coming  near  them, 
which  otherwise,  by  reason  of  the  nastiness  of 
their  cabins,  they  would  be  very  much  infested 
with. 

"Smith  talks  of  this  puc-coon,  as  if  it  only 
grew  on  the  mountains,  whereas  it  is  common  to 
all  the  plantations  of  the  English,  except  only  to 
those  situated  in  very  low  grounds. "  ^ 

"The  Indians  being  a  rude  sort  of  people  use 
no  curiosity  in  preparing  their  physic;  yet  are 
they  not  ignorant  of  the  nature  and  uses  of  their 
plants,  but  they  use  no  correctives  to  take  away 
the  flatuous,  nauseous,  and  other  bad  qualities 
of  them.  They  either  powder,  juice,  infuse,  or 
boil  them,  till  the  decoction  be  very  strong. 

^  A  rough,  hairy  plant. 

'  An  European  plant  which  yields  a  red  dye. 

3  A  medicinal  plant.  •»  From  head  to  foot. 

5  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  49-52. 


190  The  Forest  Primeval 

"Their  usual  way  of  cure  for  most  inward 
distempers  is  by  decoction,  which  they  make 
partly  pectoral,  partly  sudorific ;  these  they  cause 
the  sick  to  drink,  the  quantity  of  half  a  pint  at  a 
time,  two  or  three  times  a  day;  but  they  give 
nothing  to  procure  vomiting  in  any  distempers, 
as  a  bad  omen  that  the  diseased  will  die;  neither 
did  I  ever  know  them  to  use  any  ways  of  bleed- 
ing or  cupping. 

"If  they  have  any  wounds,  ulcers,  or  fractures, 
they  have  the  knowledge  of  curing  them.  I  did 
once  see  an  Indian  whose  arm  had  been  broken, 
and  viewing  the  place,  I  found  the  bones  to  be  as 
smoothly  consolidated,  and  as  well  reduced,  as 
any  English  chirurgeon  could  have  done  it. 

"All  Indians  carry  a  powder  about  them  to 
cure  the  bites  of  snakes,  and  in  almost  every 
town  this  powder  hath  a  different  composition, 
and  every  composition  is  certainly  effectual 
to  the  correcting  the  malignity  of  the  venom.^ 
Neither  was  it  ever  known  to  us,  that  any  Indian 
suffered  much  harm  by  these  bites,  but  in  a  day's 
time  he  would  be  as  well  as  if  he  had  never  been 
bitten,  whereas  some  of  the  English  for  want  of 
a  speedy  remedy  have  lost  their  lives. 

"The  Indians  are  frequently  troubled  with 
violent  colics,  which  oftentimes  terminate  in 
palsies."' 

'  Glover's  Account  of  Virginia,  p.  27. 


1 


CHAPTER  XIII 

HUS-KA-NAW-ING 

WE  are  not  told  by  the  early  writers  as 
much  as  we  would  like  to  know  about 
the  religious  rites  of  these  people.  We 
are  told  somewhat  of  their  conjurations,  their 
incantations,  their  attempt  to  control  the 
weather,  their  rites  to  heal  the  sick,  and  so  on, 
but  we  are  told  little  of  their  worship,  or  of  their 
innermost  beliefs  and  traditions. 

The  rite  of  Hus-ka-naw-ing,  however,  is  fully 
described  to  us,  and  seems  to  have  made  quite 
an  impression  on  the  early  writers.  It  was 
certainly  very  peculiar. 

We  owe  our  best  account  of  it  to  Strachey. 
His  statement  is  as  follows: 

"In  some  part  of  the  country  they  have  yearly 
a  sacrifice  of  children;  such  a  one  was  at  Qui- 
yough-co-han-ock,  some  ten  miles  from  James- 
town, as  also  at  Ke-cough-tan,  which  Capt. 
George  Percy  was  at,  and  observed.  The  man- 
ner of  it  was,  fifteen  of  the  properest  young  boys, 
between  ten  and  fifteen  years  of  age,  they 
painted  white;  having  brought  them  forth,  the 
people  spent  the  forenoon  in  dancing  and  singing 
about  them  with  rattles. 
191 


192  The  Forest  Primeval 

"In  the  afternoon  they  solemnly  led  those 
children  to  a  certain  tree  appointed  for  the  same 
purpose;  at  the  root  whereof,  round  about,  they 
made  the  children  to  sit  down,  and  by  them  stood 
the  most  and  the  ablest  of  the  men,  and  some  of 
them  the  fathers  of  the  children,  as  a  watchful 
guard,  every  one  having  a  bastinado  in  his  hand 
of  reeds,  and  these  opened  a  lane  between  all 
along,  through  which  were  appointed  five  young 
men  to  fetch  those  children. 

"And  accordingly  every  one  of  the  five  took  his 
turn  and  passed  through  the  guard  to  fetch  a 
child,  the  guard  fiercely  beating  them  the  while 
with  their  bastinadoes,  and  showing  much  anger 
and  displeasure  to  have  the  children  so  ravished 
from  them;  all  which  the  young  men  patiently 
endured,  receiving  the  blows  and  defending  the 
children,  with  their  naked  bodies,  from  the  un- 
merciful strokes,  that  paid  them  soundly,  though 
the  children  escaped. 

"All  the  while  sat  the  mothers  and  kinswomen 
afar  off,  looking  on,  weeping  and  crying  out  very 
passionately,  and  some,  in  pretty,  waymenting^ 
tunes,  singing  (as  it  were)  their  dirge  or  funeral 
song,  provided  with  mats,  skins,  moss,  and  dry 
wood  by  them,  as  things  fitting  their  children's 
funerals. 

"After  the  children  were  thus  forcibly  taken 
from  the  guard,  the  guard  possessed  (as  it  were) 
with  a  violent  fury,  entered  upon  the  tree  and 
tore  it  down,  bows  and  branches,  with  such  a 

'  "Probably  plaintive," 


Hus-ka-navv-incr  193 


& 


terrible  fierceness  and  strength,  that  they  rent 
the  very  body  of  it,  and  shivered  it  in  a  hundred 
pieces,  whereof  some  of  them  made  them  gar- 
lands for  their  heads,  and  some  stuck  of  the 
branches  and  leaves  in  their  hair,  wreathing 
them  in  the  same,  and  so  went  up  and  down 
as  mourners,  with  heavy  and  sad  downcast 
looks. 

"What  else  was  done  with  the  children  might 
not  be  seen  by  our  people,  further  than  that 
they  were  all  cast  on  a  heap  in  a  valley,  where  was 
made  a  great  and  solemn  feast  for  all  the  com- 
pany; at  the  going  whereunto,  the  night  now 
approaching,  the  Indians  desired  our  people 
that  they  would  withdraw  themselves  and  leave 
them  to  their  further  proceedings,  the  which  they 
did. 

"Only  some  of  the  wer-6-ances  being  de- 
manded the  meaning  of  this  sacrifice,  made  an- 
swer, that  the  children  did  not  all  of  them  suffer 
death,  but  that  the  0-ke-us  did  suck  the  blood 
from  the  left  breast  of  the  child  whose  chance  it 
was  to  be  his  by  lot,  till  he  were  dead,  and  the 
remainder  were  kept  in  the  wilderness  by  the 
said  young  men  till  nine  moons  were  expired, 
during  which  time  they  must  not  converse  with 
any;  and  of  these  were  made  the  priests  and 
conjurers  to  be  instructed  by  tradition  from  the 
elder  priests. 

"These  sacrifices,  or  catharmata,  they  hold  to 
be  so  necessary,  that  if  they  should  omit  them 
they  suppose  this  Okeus,  and  all  the  other  Qui- 


194  The  Forest  Primeval 

ough-co-sughes,  which  are  their  other  gods, 
would  let  them  no  deer,  turkeys,  corn,  nor  fish, 
and  yet  besides  he  would  make  a  great  slaughter 
amongst  them;  insomuch  as  if  ever  the  ancient 
superstitious  times  feared  the  devil's  postularia 
fulgura,  lightnings  that  signified  religion  of 
sacrifices  and  vows  to  be  neglected, '  these  people 
are  dreadfully  afflicted  with  the  terror  of  the 
like,  insomuch  as,  I  may  truly  say  therefore,  the 
like  thunder  and  lightning  is  seldom  again 
either  seen  or  heard  in  Europe  as  is  here. "  ^ 

Smith  gave  an  abbreviated  account  of  this 
rite,  which  Beverley  reproduced.  ^ 

Commenting  upon  this  proceeding,  Beverley 
says: 

"How  far  Captain  Smith  might  be  misin- 
formed in  this  account,  I  can't  say,  or  whether 
their  0-kee's  sucking  the  breast  be  only  a  delusion 
or  pretence  of  the  physician  (or  priest,  who  is 
always  a  physician),  to  prevent  all  reflection  on 
his  skill,  when  any  happened  to  die  under  his 
discipline. 

"This  I  choose  rather  to  believe,  than  those  re- 
ligious romances  concerning  their  0-kee.  For  I 
take  this  story  of  Smith's  to  be  only  an  exam- 

'  "The  rendering  here  given  by  Strachey  of  postularia  fulgura  is 
evidently  from  Festus,  though  his  quaint  diction  would  mislead  the 
reader  as  to  the  intention  of  the  words.  Festus  gives  the  following 
definition  of  the  term.  'Fulgura  quae  votorum  aut  sacrificiorum 
spretam  religionem  designant. ' "  Lightnings  which  indicate  religion 
to  be  treated  with  contempt  by  reason  of  the  neglect  of  vows  or 
sacrifices. 

'  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  pp.  94-6. 

i  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  140. 


Hus-ka-navv-ing  195 

pie  of  hus-ka-naw-Ing,  which  being  a  ceremony 
then  altogether  unknown  to  him,  he  might  easily 
mistake  some  of  the  circumstances  of  it. 

"The  solemnity  of  hus-ka-naw-ing  is  com- 
monly practiced  once  every  fourteen  or  sixteen 
years,  or  oftener,  as  their  young  men  happen  to 
grow  up.  It  is  an  institution  or  discipline  which 
all  young  men  must  pass,  before  they  can  be  ad- 
mitted to  be  of  the  number  of  the  great  men,  or 
cock-a-rouses  of  the  nation;  whereas  by  Captain 
Smith's  relation,  they  were  only  set  apart  to 
supply  the  priesthood.  The  whole  ceremony 
is  performed  after  the  following  manner: 

"The  choicest  and  briskest  young  men  of  the 
town,  and  such  only  as  have  acquired  some  treas- 
ure by  their  travels  and  hunting,  are  chosen  out 
of  the  rulers  to  be  hus-ka-naw-ed ;  and  whoever 
refuses  to  undergo  this  process,  dare  not  remain 
among  them. 

"Several  of  those  odd  preparatory  fopperies  are 
premised  in  the  beginning,  which  have  been  be- 
fore related ;  but  the  principal  part  of  the  business 
is  to  carry  them  into  the  woods,  and  there  keep 
them  under  confinement,  and  destitute  of  all 
society,  for  several  months ;  giving  them  no  other 
sustenance  but  the  infusion  or  decoction  of  some 
poisonous,  intoxicating  roots. 

"  By  virtue  of  which  physic,  and  by  the  se- 
verity of  the  discipline  which  they  undergo,  they 
become  stark,  staring  mad,  in  which  raving  con- 
dition they  are  kept  eighteen  or  twenty  days. 
During  these  extremities  they  are  shut  up  night 


196  The  Forest  Primeval 

and  day,  In  a  strong  enclosure,  made  on  purpose; 
one  of  which  I  saw  belonging  to  the  Pa-mun-key 
Indians,  in  the  year  1694.  It  was  in  shape  like 
a  sugar-loaf,  and  every  way  open  like  a  lattice 
for  the  air  to  pass  through/ 

"In  this  cage  thirteen  young  men  had  been 
hus-ka-naw-ed,  and  had  not  been  a  month  set 
at  liberty  when  I  saw  it. 

"Upon  this  occasion  it  is  pretended  that  these 
poor  creatures  drink  so  much  of  that  water  of 
Lethe,  that  they  perfectly  lose  the  remembrance 
of  all  former  things,  even  of  their  parents,  their 
treasure,^  and  their  language. 

"When  the  doctors  find  that  they  have  drunk 
sufficiently  of  the  wy-soc-can  (so  they  call  this 
mad  potion),  they  gradually  restore  them  to 
their  senses  again,  by  lessening  the  intoxication 
of  their  diet;  but  before  they  are  perfectly  well, 
they  bring  them  back  into  their  towns,  while 
they  are  still  wild  and  crazy,  through  the  vio- 
lence of  the  medicine. 

"After  this  they  are  very  fearful  of  discovering 
any  thing  of  their  former  remembrance;  for  if 
such  a  thing  should  happen  to  any  of  them,  they 
must  immediately  be  hus-ka-naw-ed  again;  and 
the  second  time  the  usage  is  so  severe,  that  sel- 
dom any  one  escapes  with  life. 

"Thus  they  must  pretend  to  have  forgot  the 
very  use  of  their  tongues,  so  as  not  to  be  able  to 

'  See  page  231. 

'Their  hidden  treasures,  held  in  reserve  both  for  use  in  life  and 
after  death. 


Hus-ka-naw-ing  197 

speak  nor  understand  any  thing  that  is  spoken, 
till  they  learn  it  again. 

"Now  whether  this  be  real  or  counterfeit,  I 
don't  know;  but  certain  it  is,  that  they  will  not 
for  some  time  take  notice  of  any  body  nor  any 
thing,  with  which  they  were  before  acquainted, 
being  still  under  the  guard  of  their  keepers,  who 
constantly  wait  upon  them  every  where,  till  they 
have  learned  all  things  perfectly  over  again. 
Thus  they  unlive  their  former  lives,  and  com- 
mence men,  by  forgetting  that  they  ever  have 
been  boys. 

"If  under  this  exercise  any  one  should  die,  I 
suppose  the  story  of  0-kee,  mentioned  by  Smith, 
is  the  salvo'  for  it:  For  (says  he)  0-kee  was  to 
have  such  as  were  his  by  lot;  and  such  were 
said  to  be  sacrificed. 

"Now  this  conjecture  is  the  more  probable 
because  we  know  that  0-kee  has  not  a  share  in 
every  hus-ka-naw-ing;  for  tho'  two  young  men 
happened  to  come  short  home^  in  that  of  the 
Pa-mun-key  Indians,  which  was  performed  in  the 
year  1694,  Y^^  the  Ap-pa-mat-tucks,  formerly  a 
great  nation,  though  now  an  inconsiderable 
people,  made  an  hus-ka-naw  in  the  year  1690, 
and  brought  home  the  same  number  they  carried 
out.  "3 

'  Excuse. 

'  That  is,  two  never  returned  home. 

3  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  37-41. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE    EMBALMED    KINGS   AND    FUNERAL    RITES 

STRACHEY  gives  us  this  account  of  the 
embalming  of  the  bodies  of  the  kings: 
"Within  the  chancel  of  the  temple,  by 
the  0-ke-us,  are  the  cenotaphies  or  the  monu- 
ments of  their  kings,  whose  bodies,  so  soon  as 
they  be  dead,  they  embowel,  and,  scraping  the 
flesh  from  off  the  bones,  they  dry  the  same  upon 
hurdles'  into  ashes,  which  they  put  into  little 
pots  (like  ancient  urns). 

''The  anatomy  of  the  bones  they  bind  to- 
gether, or  case  up  in  leather,  hanging  bracelets, 
or  chains  of  copper,  beads,  pearls  or  such  like, 
as  they  used  to  wear,  about  most  of  their  joints 
and  neck,  and  so  repose  the  body  upon  a  little 
scaffold  (as  upon  a  tomb),  laying  by  the  dead 
body's  feet,  all  his  riches  in  several  baskets,  his 
a-pook,^  and  pipe,  and  any  one  toy,  which  in 
his  life  he  held  most  dear  in  his  fancy. 

"Their  inwards  they  stuff  with  pearl,  copper, 
beads,  and  such  trash,  sewed  in  a  skin,  which 
they  overlap  again  very  carefully  in  white  skins 
one  or  two,  and  the  bodies  thus  dressed  lastly 

'  Frames  of  wood.  » Tobacco. 

198 


Embalmed  Kings  and  Funeral  Rites     199 

they  roll  in  mats,  as  for  winding  sheets,  and 
so  lay  them  orderly  one  by  one,  as  they  die  in 
their  turns,  upon  an  arch  standing  (as  aforesaid) 
for  the  tomb,  and  these  are  all  the  ceremonies 
we  yet  can  learn  that  they  give  unto  their  dead.' 

"We  hear  of  no  sweet  oils  or  ointments  that 
they  use  to  dress  or  chest  ^  their  dead  bodies  with ; 
albeit  they  want  not  of  the  precious  resin  running 
out  of  the  great  cedar,  wherewith  in  the  old  times 
they  used  to  embalm  dead  bodies,  washing  them 
in  the  oil  and  liquor  thereof. 

"Only  to  the  priests  the  care  of  these  temples 
and  holy  interments  are  committed,  and  these 
temples  are  to  them  as  solitary  asseteria^  col- 
leges or  ministers  to  exercise  themselves  in  con- 
templation, for  they  are  seldom  out  of  them, 
and  therefore  often  lie  in  them  and  maintain 
continual  fire  in  the  same,  upon  a  hearth  some- 
what near  the  east  end.  "'^ 

Beverley's  description  of  this  same  proceeding, 
but  with  interesting  variations  as  to  details,  is  as 
follows  : 

"The  Indians  are  religious^  in  preserving  the 
corpses  of  their  kings  and  rulers  after  death, 
which  they  order  in  the  following  manner.  First, 
they  neatly  flay*^  off  the  skin  as  entire  as  they  can, 
slitting  it  only  in  the  back;  then  they  pick  all  the 

'  More  ceremonies  were  used,  as  we  will  see  later  on. 
'  Place  in  a  coffin. 

3  "Possibly  misspelt  from  Aa-a-^repos  quasi 'ETroo-o-i/repos,  i.  e.,  follow- 
ing in  a  row  one  after  another." 

4  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  89 

sThat  is,  observe  as  a  religious  duty.  "  Strip. 


200  The  Forest  Primeval 

flesh  off  from  the  bones  as  clean  as  possible,  leav- 
ing the  sinews  fastened  to  the  bones,  that  they 
may  preserve  the  joints  together. 

"Then  they  dry  the  bones  a  little  in  the  sun, 
and  put  them  into  the  skin  again,  which  in  the 
meantime  has  been  kept  from  drying  or  shrink- 
ing; when  the  bones  are  placed  right  in  the  skin, 
they  nicely  fill  up  the  vacuities,  with  a  very  find 
white  sand. 

"After  this  they  sew  up  the  skin  again,  and 
the  body  looks  as  if  the  flesh  had  not  been  re- 
moved. They  take  care  to  keep  the  skin  from 
shrinking,  by  the  help  of  a  little  oil  or  grease, 
which  saves  it  also  from  corruption. 

"The  skin  being  thus  prepared  they  lay  it  in 
an  apartment  for  that  purpose,  upon  a  large 
shelf  raised  above  the  floor.  This  shelf  is  spread 
with  mats,  for  the  corpses  to  rest  easy  on,  and 
screened  with  the  same,  to  keep  it  from  the 
dust. 

"The  flesh  they  lay  upon  hurdles'  in  the  sun 
to  dry;  and  when  it  is  thoroughly  dried,  it  is 
sewed  up  in  a  basket,  and  set  at  the  feet  of  the 
corpse  to  which  it  belongs. 

"In  this  place  also  they  set  up  a  Qui-oc-cos, 
or  Idol,  which  they  believe  will  be  a  guard  to 
the  corpses.  Here  night  and  day  one  or  other 
of  the  priests  must  give  his  attendance,  to  take 
care  of  the  dead  bodies.  So  great  an  honor  and 
veneration  have  these  ignorant  and  unpolished 
people  for  their  princes,  even  after  they  are  dead. 

'  A  movable  frame  made  of  rods  crossing  each  other. 


"The  Burial  of  the  Kings" 


Embalmed  Kings  and  Funeral  Rites     201 

"The  mat  is  supposed  to  be  turned  up  in  the 
figure/  that  the  inside  may  be  viewed.'"' 

Hariot  tells  us  that  the  bodies  lay  on  a  scaffold 
nine  or  ten  feet  high,  and  that  under  this  scaffold 
some  one  of  the  priests  had  his  lodging,  "which 
mumbleth  his  prayers  night  and  day,  and  hath 
charge  of  the  corpses.  For  his  bed,  he  hath  two 
deers'  skins  spread  on  the  ground,  if  the  weather 
be  cold,  he  maketh  a  fire  to  warm  by  withal."^ 

Spelman  gives  us  an  account  of  the  ordinary 
funeral  customs: 

"If  he  dies  his  burial  is  this,  there  is  a  scaffold 
built  about  three  or  four  yards  high  from  the 
ground  and  the  dead  body  wrapped  in  a  mat  is 
brought  to  the  place,  where  when  he  is  laid  there- 
on, the  kinsfolk  fall  a-weeping  and  make  great 
sorrow,  and  instead  of  dole"^  for  him,  the  poorer 
people  being  got  together,  some  of  his  kinsfolk 
fling  beads  ^  among  them  making  them  to  scram- 
ble for  them,  so  it  happens  many  times  divers 
do  break  their  arms  and  legs  being  pressed  by 
the  company;  this  finished  they  go  to  the  party's 
house  ^  where  they  have  meat  given  them  which 
being  eaten  all  the  rest  of  the  day  they  spend  in 
singing  and  dancing,  using  then  as  much  mirth 
as  before  sorrow,  moreover,  if  any  of  the  kin- 
dreds' bodies  which  have  been  laid  on  the  scaffold 
be  so  consumed  as  nothing  is  left  but  bones  they 

'  Picture,  p.  202.  2  Beverley,  book  3,  p.  47. 

3  Hariot 's  Narrative,  xxii. 

<  A  portion  of  money,  food,  or  other  things  distributed  in  charity. 
s  Wam-pum  or  peak.  « The  deceased  man's  home. 


202  The  Forest  Primeval 

take  those  bones  from  the  scaffold  and  putting 
them  into  a  new  mat,  ^  hang  them  in  their  houses 
where  they  continue  while  their  house  falleth, 
and  then  they  are  buried  in  the  ruins  of  the 
house.  "- 

Strachey  gives  an  account  of  another  kind  of 
burial: 

"For  their  ordinary  burials  they  dig  a  deep 
hole  in  the  earth  with  sharp  stakes,  and  the 
corpse  being  lapped  in  skins  and  mats  with  their 
jewels,  they  lay  upon  sticks  in  the  ground,  and 
so  cover  them  with  earth:  the  burial  ended,  the 
women,  being  painted  all  their  faces  with  black 
coal  and  oil,  do  sit  twenty-four  hours  in  their 
houses,  mourning  and  lamenting  by  turns,  with 
such  yelling  and  howling  as  may  express  their 
great  passions."^ 

Still  a  third  mode  of  disposing  of  the  bodies  of 
the  dead  is  recorded  by  Glover.  He  says: 
"They  burn  the  bodies  of  the  dead,  and  sew  up 
the  ashes  in  mats,  which  they  place  near  the 
cabins  of  their  relations."'* 

With  every  wer-6-ance  or  king  was  buried  all 
his  wealth,  for  they  believed  that  he  that  died 
the  richest,  lived  in  another  world  the  happiest. 

In  consequence  of  this  idea,  there  was  found 
by  the  English  a  great  quantity  of  pearls 
stored  in  the  "house  of  their  sepultures,"  that 


'  Covering  made  of  cloths  or  mats. 

*  Spelman's  Relation  of  Virginia,  pp.  40-1. 

3  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  90. 

4  A  ccount  of  Virginia,  p.  24. 


Embalmed  Kiners  and  Funeral  Rites      20; 


't> 


is,  the  place  where  the  embalmed  bodies  were 
preserved. 

Discolored  and  softened  by  heat  as  they  had 
been,  having  been  found  most  probably  in  oysters 
when  they  were  cooked,  their  value  was  not  so 
great  as  it  otherwise  would  have  been.  ^ 

We  have  reason  to  believe  that  when,  in  pur- 
suance of  treaties  or  cession  of  land  to  the  Vir- 
ginians, the  Indians  withdrew  from  the  eastern 
part  of  the  State,  they  took  all  the  embalmed 
kings  with  them.- 

The  honors  paid  to  the  departed,  when  they 
were  personages  of  distinction,  did  not  end  with 
merely  embalming  their  bodies.  Lane  tells  us 
that  it  was  the  custom  to  observe  a  general, 
public  mourning  for  a  month.  Such  a  mourning 
on  account  of  the  death  of  En-se-no-re,  the 
father  of  Pem-is-a-pan,  the  King  of  the  country 
around  Roanoke  Island,  was  made  the  excuse 
for  collecting  there  eight  hundred  warriors,  who 
were  to  take  part  in  the  conspiracy  to  exter- 
minate the  English. 

I  Brown's  Genesis  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i.,  p.  349;  A  True  and 
Sincere  Declaration  of  the  Governors  and  Councilors,  1609. 
'  Beverley,  book  2,  pp.  lo-il. 


CHAPTER  XV 

BURIAL    MOUNDS 

MR.  JEFFERSON,  in  his  Notes  on  Vir- 
ginia, has  an  interesting  account  of 
an  examination  made  by  him  of  one 
of  the  Indian  burial-places  near  his  home.  He 
says  : 

"I  know  of  no  such  thing  existing  as  an  Indian 
monument:  for  I  would  not  honour  with  that 
name  arrow  points,  stone  hatchets,  stone  pipes, 
and  half  shapen  images.  Of  labour  on  the  large 
scale,  I  think  there  is  no  remain  as  respectable 
as  would  be  a  common  ditch  for  the  draining  of 
lands:  unless  indeed  it  would  be  the  barrows,  of 
which  many  are  to  be  found  all  over  this  country. 

"These  are  of  different  sizes,  some  of  them 
constructed  of  earth,  and  some  of  loose  stones. 
That  they  were  repositories  of  the  dead,  has 
been  obvious  to  all;  but  on  what  particular 
occasion    constructed,  was  a  matter  of   doubt. 

"  Some  have  thought  they  covered  the  bones  of 
those  who  have  fallen  in  battles  fought  on  the 
spot  of  interment.  Some  ascribed  them  to  the 
custom,  said  to  prevail  among  the  Indians,  of 
collecting,  at  certain  periods  the  bones  of  all 
204 


Burial  Mounds  205 

their  dead,  wheresoever  deposited  at  the  time  of 
death.  Others  again  supposed  them  the  general 
sepulchres  for  towns,  conjectured  to  have  been 
on  or  near  these  grounds;  and  this  opinion  was 
supported  by  the  quality  of  the  lands  in  which 
they  are  found  (those  constructed  of  earth  be- 
ing generally  in  the  softest  and  most  fertile 
meadow  grounds  on  river  sides),  and  by  a  tradi- 
tion, said  to  be  handed  down  from  the  aboriginal 
Indians,  that,  when  they  settled  in  a  town,  the 
first  person  who  died  was  placed  erect,  and  earth 
put  about  him,  so  as  to  cover  and  support  him; 
and  when  another  died,  a  narrow  passage  was  dug 
to  the  first,  the  second  reclined  against  him,  and 
the  cover  of  earth  replaced,  and  so  on. 

"  There  being  one  of  those  in  my  neighborhood, 
I  wished  to  satisfy  myself  whether  any,  and  which 
of  these  opinions  were  just.  For  this  purpose  I 
determined  to  open  and  examine  it  thoroughly. 

''  It  was  situated  on  the  low  grounds  of  the 
Rivanna,  about  two  miles  above  its  principal 
fork,^  and  opposite  to  some  hills,  on  which  had 
been  an  Indian  town.  It  was  of  a  spheroidical 
form,  of  about  forty  feet  diameter  at  the  base, 
and  had  been  of  about  twelve  feet  altitude, 
though  now  reduced  by  the  plough  to  seven  and 
a  half,  having  been  under  cultivation  about  a 
dozen  years.  Before  this  it  was  covered  with 
trees  of  twelve  inches  diameter,  and  round  the 


'  Mechum's  River.  The  location  thus  described  would  be  a  point 
about  two  miles  southeast  of  the  station  known  as  Proffit,  on  the 
Southern  Railway,  in  Albemarle  County. 


2o6  The  Forest  Primeval 

base  was  an  excavation  of  five  feet  depth  and 
width,  from  whence  the  earth  had  been  taken 
of  which  the  hillock  was  formed. 

"  I  first  dug  superficially  in  several  parts  of 
it,  and  came  to  collections  of  human  bones,  at 
different  depths,  from  six  inches  to  three  feet 
below  the  surface.  These  were  lying  in  the 
utmost  confusion,  some  vertical,  some  oblique, 
some  horizontal,  and  directed  to  every  point  of 
the  compass,  entangled  and  held  together  in 
clusters  by  the  earth.  Bones  of  the  most  distant 
parts  were  found  together,  as  for  instance,  the 
small  bones  of  the  foot  in  the  hollow  of  the  skull; 
many  skulls  would  sometimes  be  in  contact, 
lying  on  the  face,  on  the  side,  on  the  back,  top 
or  bottom,  so  as,  on  the  whole,  to  give  the  idea 
of  bones  emptied  promiscuously  from  a  bag  or 
basket,  and  covered  over  with  earth,  without  any 
attention  to  their  order. 

"The  bones  of  Vv^hich  the  greatest  numbers 
remained,  were  skulls,  jaw-bones,  teeth,  the 
bones  of  the  arms,  thighs,  legs,  feet,  and  hands. 
A  few  ribs  remained,  some  vertebrae  of  the  neck 
and  spine,  without  their  processes,  '  and  one 
instance  only  of  the  bone  which  serves  as  a 
base  to  the  vertebral  column. 

"The  skulls  were  so  tender,  that  they  generally 
fell  to  pieces  on  being  touched.  The  other  bones 
were  stronger.  There  were  some  teeth  which 
were  judged  to  be  smaller  than  those  of  an  adult; 
a  skull,  which  on  a  slight  view,  appeared  to  be 

'  Outgrowing  parts  or  protuberances. 


Burial  Mounds  207 

that  of  an  infant,  but  it  fell  to  pieces  on  being 
taken  out,  so  as  to  prevent  satisfactory  examina- 
tion; a  rib,  and  a  fragment  of  the  under  jaw  of  a 
person  about  half  grown;  another  rib  of  an  in- 
fant ;  and  part  of  the  jaw  of  a  child,  which  had  not 
cut   its   teeth. 

"This  last  furnishing  the  most  decisive  proof 
of  the  burial  of  children  here,  I  was  particu- 
lar in  my  attention  to  it.  It  was  part  of  the 
right  half  of  the  under  jaw.  The  processes, 
by  which  It  was  attenuated '  to  the  tempo- 
ral bones,^  were  entire,  and  the  bone  itself  firm 
to  where  it  had  been  broken  off,  which,  as 
nearly  as  I  could  judge,  was  about  the  place  of 
the  eye-tooth.  Its  upper  edge,  wherein  would 
have  been  the  sockets  of  the  teeth,  was  perfectly 
smooth.  Measuring  it  with  that  of  an  adult, 
by  placing  their  hinder  processes  together,  its 
broken  end  extended  to  the  penultimate  grinder 
of  the  adult.  This  bone  was  white,  all  the  others 
of  a  sand  colour.  The  bones  of  infants  being 
soft,  they  probably  decay  sooner,  which  might 
be  the  cause  so  few  were  found  here. 

"  I  proceeded  then  to  make  a  perpendicular  cut 
through  the  body  of  the  barrow,  that  I  might  ex- 
amine its  internal  structure.  This  passed  about 
three  feet  from  its  centre,  was  opened  to  the 
former  surface  of  the  earth,  and  was  wide  enough 
for  a  man  to  walk  through  and  examine  its  sides. 

'  Become  thinner  or  smaller  toward  the  point  of  connection. 

'  The  complex  bone  situated  at  the  side  and  base  of  the  skull, 
in  the  region  of  the  ear,  whose  internal  organs  it  contains  within  its 
substance. 


2o8  The  Forest  Primeval 

"At  the  bottom,  that  is,  on  the  level  of  the 
circumjacent  plain,  I  found  bones;  above  these  a 
few  stones,  brought  from  a  cliff  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  off,  and  from  the  river  one-eighth  of  a  mile 
off;  then  a  large  interval  of  earth,  then  a  stratum 
of  bones,  and  so  on. 

"  At  one  end  of  the  section  were  four  strata 
of  bones  plainly  distinguishable;  at  the  other, 
three;  the  strata  in  one  part  not  ranging  with 
those  in  another:  The  bones  nearest  the  sur- 
face were  least  decayed.  No  holes  were  dis- 
covered in  any  of  them,  as  if  made  with  bullets, 
arrows,  or  other  weapons.  I  conjectured  that 
in  this  barrow  might  have  been  a  thousand 
skeletons. 

"  Every  one  will  readily  seize  the  circum- 
stances above  related,  which  militate  against 
the  opinion,  that  it  covered  the  bones  only  of 
persons  fallen  in  battle;  and  against  the  tradi- 
tion also,  which  would  make  it  the  common 
sepulchre  of  a  town,  in  which  the  bodies  were 
placed  upright,  and  touching  each  other. 

"Appearances  certainly  indicate  that  it  has  de- 
rived both  origin  and  growth  from  the  accustom- 
ary  collection  of  bones,  and  deposition  of  them 
together;  that  the  first  collection  had  been  de- 
posited on  the  common  surface  of  the  earth,  a 
few  stones  put  over  it,  and  then  a  covering  of 
earth,  that  the  second  had  been  laid  on  this,  had 
covered  more  or  less  of  it  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  bones,  and  was  then  also  covered  with 
earth;  and  so  on. 


Burial  Mounds  209 

"The  following  are  the  particular  circum- 
stances which  give  it  this  aspect:  i.  The 
number  of  bones.  2.  Their  confused  position. 
3.  Their  being  in  different  strata.  4.  The  strata 
in  one  part  having  no  correspondence  with 
those  in  another.  5.  The  different  states  of 
decay  in  these  strata,  which  seem  to  indicate 
a  difference  in  the  time  of  inhumation.  6.  The 
existence  of  infant  bones  among  them. 

"But  on  whatever  occasion  they  may  have 
been  made,  they  are  of  considerable  notoriety 
among  the  Indians;  for  a  party  passing,  about 
thirty  years  ago,  through  the  part  of  the  country 
where  this  barrow  is,  went  through  the  woods  di- 
rectly to  it,  without  any  instructions  or  enquiry, 
and  having  staid  about  it  some  time,  with  expres- 
sions which  were  construed  to  be  those  of  sorrow, 
they  returned  to  the  high  road,  which  they  had 
left  about  half  a  dozen  miles  to  pay  this  visit, 
and   pursued   their  journey. 

"There  is  another  barrow  much  resembling 
this,  in  the  low  grounds  of  the  south  branch 
of  Shenandoah  where  it  is  crossed  by  the  road 
leading  from  the  Rockfish  Gap  to  Staunton.' 
Both  of  these  have  within  those  dozen  years, 
been  cleared  of  their  trees,  and  put  under 
cultivation,  are  much  reduced  in  their  heighth, 
and  spread  in  width,  by  the  plough,  and  will 
probably  disappear  in  time. 

"  There  is  another  on  a  hill  in  the  Blue  Ridge 

'  This  description  would  indicate   the  neighborhood  of   Waynes- 
boro, in  Augusta  County. 
14 


2IO  The  Forest  Primeval 

of  mountains,  a  few  miles  north  of  Wood's  gap, 
which  is  made  up  of  small  stones  thrown  to- 
gether. This  has  been  opened  and  found  to 
contain  human  bones,  as  the  others  do.  There 
are  also  many  others  in  other  parts  of  the 
country."' 

On  the  western  bank  of  the  Ohio  River,  at 
Marietta,  Ohio,  is  a  nearly  perfect  specimen  of 
the  barrow  or  mound.  It  was  visited  by  the 
writer  In  the  fall  of  1909.  The  mound  Is  appro- 
priately surrounded  by  a  cemetery,  named 
Mound  Cemetery.  It  is  conical  In  shape,  the 
top  being  reached  by  forty-five  stone  steps,  and 
having  a  circumference  at  the  base,  of  about 
three  hundred  and  seventy-eight  feet. 

Surrounding  the  mound,  for  about  forty  feet, 
the  earth  gently  slopes  away  from  It,  and 
then  descends  into  a  shallow  moat.  Around 
this  little  moat  there  circles  a  correspondingly 
low  rampart,  at  a  distance  of  sixty  feet  from  the 
base  of  the  mound.  This  formed  the  outer  circle 
of  the  structure,  and  is  about  seven  hundred 
and  seventy-one  feet  in  circumference.  All  of 
this  mound,  space,  moat,  and  rampart,  is  cov- 
ered with  a  well-kept  lawn,  and  presents  a 
beautiful  and  symmetrical  whole. 

The  care  with  which  this  mound  has  been  kept 
does  credit  to  the  authorities  of  the  city  where  it 
is,  although  It  would  be  still  better,  If  certain 
objects  now  there  were  removed  from  the  top 
as  well  as  the  stone  steps  which  ascend  it,  so 

'  Jefferson's  Notes  on  Virginia,  p.  99  e<  seq.  % 


Burial  Mounds  211 

that  the  mound  could  he  seen  in  its  original 
condition. 

The  writer  could  not  learn,  during  his  short 
stay,  whether  this  mound  had  ever  been  thor- 
oughly examined,  or  whether  the  encircling  moat 
and  rampart  were  of  recent,  or  of  ancient  con- 
struction. He  was  told  that  its  excavation  had 
been  once  begun,  but  that  it  was  abruptly 
abandoned. 

Further  up  the  Ohio,  on  its  eastern  bank,  in 
Marshall  County,  West  Virginia,  at  Mounds- 
ville,  stands  the  greatest  mound  in  the  country. 
This  was  discovered  in  1772,  by  Joseph  Tomlin- 
son,  who  settled  at  what  was  then  known  as 
Grave  Creek.  A  description  of  the  mound  given 
by  one  of  its  subsequent  owners,  Mr.  A.  B. 
Tomlinson,  taken  from  the  American  Pioneer, 
is  thus  preserved  by  Howe: 

"The  Mammoth  Mound  Is  sixty-nine  feet 
high,  and  about  nine  hundred  feet  in  circumfer- 
ence at  its  base.  It  is  a  frustum  of  a  cone,  and 
has  a  flat  top  of  about  fifty  feet  in  diameter. 
This  flat,  until  lately,  was  slightly  depressed — 
occasioned,  it  is  supposed,  by  the  falling  in  of 
two  vaults  below.  A  few  years  since  a  white 
oak,  of  about  seventy  feet  in  height,  stood  on 
the  summit  of  the  mound,  which  appeared  to 
die  of  age.  On  carefully  cutting  the  trunk 
transversely,  the  number  of  concentric  circles 
showed  that  it  was  about  five  hundred  years 
old. 

"In  1838,  Mr.  Tomlinson  commenced  at  the 


212  The  Forest  Primeval 

level  of  the  surrounding  ground,  and  ran  in  an 
excavation  horizontally  one  hundred  and  eleven 
feet,  when  he  came  to  a  vault  that  had  been 
excavated  in  the  earth  before  the  mound  was 
commenced.  This  vault  was  twelve  feet  long, 
eight  wide  and  seven  in  height.  It  was  dry  as 
any  tight  room.  Along  each  side  and  the  two 
ends,  stood  upright  timbers,  which  had  sup- 
ported transverse  timbers  forming  the  ceiling. 
Over  the  timbers  had  been  placed  unhewn  stone; 
but  the  decay  of  the  timbers  occasioned  the  fall 
of  the  stones  and  the  superincumbent  earth,  so 
as  to  nearly  fill  the  vault. " 

A  note  here  inserted  by  Mr.  Howe  states: 
***At  the  top  and  bottom,  where  the  timbers  had 
been  placed,  were  particles  of  charcoal — an  evi- 
dence that  fire,  instead  of  iron  had  been  used  in 
severing  the  wood.  This  goes  to  show  that  the 
constructors  of  the  mound  were  not  acquainted 
with  the  use  of  iron ;  and  the  fact  that  none  of 
that  metal  was  found  in  the  vault,  strongly  cor- 
roborates the  opinion.  Some  of  the  stones  were 
water-worn,  probably  from  the  river;  others  were 
identical  with  a  whet-stone  quarry  on  the  Ohio 
side  of  the  river,  two  miles  north. ' 

"In  this  vault  were  found  two  skeletons,  one 
of  which  was  devoid  of  ornament — the  other 
was  surrounded  by  six  hundred  and  fifty  ivory 
beads,  resembling  button-moles,  and  an  ivory 
ornament  of  about  six  inches  in  length,  which 
is  one  inch  and  five-eighths  wide  in  the  centre, 
half  an  inch  wide  at  the  ends,  and  on  one  side 


Burial  Mounds  213 

flat  and  on  the  other  oval-shaped.  A  singular 
white  exudation  of  animal  matter  overhangs  the 
roof  of  this  vault. 

"Another  excavation  was  commenced  at  the 
top  of  the  mound  downwards.  Midway  between 
the  top  and  bottom,  and  over  the  vault  above 
described,  a  second  and  similar  vault  was  dis- 
covered, and,  like  that,  caved  in  by  the  falHng 
of  the  ceiling,  timbers,  stones,  etc.  In  the  upper 
vault  was  found  the  singular  hieroglyphical 
stone  hereafter  described,  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  ivory  beads,  five  hundred  sea-shells  of 
the  involute  species,  that  were  worn  as  beads, 
and  five  copper  bracelets  about  the  wrists  of 
the  skeleton.  The  shells  and  beads  were  about 
the  neck  and  breast  of  the  skeleton,  and  there 
were  also  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  pieces  of 
isinglass  strewed  over  the  body. 

"The  mound  is  composed  of  the  same  kind  of 
earth  as  that  around  it,  being  a  fine  loamy  sand, 
but  differs  very  much  in  color  from  that  of  the 
natural  ground.  After  penetrating  about  eight 
feet  with  the  first  or  horizontal  excavation,  blue 
spots  began  to  appear  in  the  earth  of  which 
the  mound  is  composed.  On  close  examination, 
these  spots  were  found  to  contain  ashes  and  bits 
of  burnt  bones.  These  spots  increased  as  they 
approached  the  centre:  at  the  distance  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  feet  within,  the  spots  were 
so  numerous  and  condensed  as  to  give  the  earth 
a  clouded  appearance,  and  excited  the  admira- 
tion of  all  who  saw  it.     Every  part  of  the  mound 


214  The  Forest  Primeval 

presents  the  same  appearance,  except  near  the 
surface.  The  blue  spots  were  probably  occa- 
sioned by  depositing  the  remains  of  bodies  con- 
sumed by  fire." 

The  following  additional  interesting  informa- 
tion is  given  by  Howe: 

"Mr.  Henry  R.  Colcraft  (Schoolcraft),  whose 
researches  upon  the  Indian  antiquities  of  the 
West  have  placed  him  at  the  head  of  the  list  of 
scientific  inquirers  upon  this  subject,  visited 
Grave  Creek  in  August,  1843,  and  devoted 
several  days  to  the  examination  of  the  antique 
works  of  art  at  that  place.  The  result  of  his 
investigations  is  partially  given  in  a  communica- 
tion to  the  New  York  Commercial  Advertiser, 
copied  below.  We  were  subsequently  at  Grave 
Creek,  and  obtained  an  impression  in  wax  of  the 
hieroglyphical  stone  to  which  he  alludes.  An 
accurate  engraving  from  this  impression  we 
insert  in  its  proper  place  in  his  article: 

"*I  have  devoted  several  days  to  the  examina- 
tion of  the  antiquities  of  this  place  and  its 
vicinity,  and  find  them  to  be  of  even  more  inter- 
est than  was  anticipated.  The  most  prominent 
object  of  curiosity  is  the  great  tumulus,  of  which 
notices  have  appeared  in  western  papers;  but 
this  heavy  structure  of  earth  is  not  isolated.  It 
is  but  one  of  a  series  of  mounds  and  other  evi- 
dences of  ancient  occupation  at  this  point,  of 
more  than  ordinary  interest.  I  have  visited 
and  examined  seven  mounds  situated  within  a 
short  distance  of  each  other.     They  occupy  the 


Burial  Mounds  215 

summit  level  of  a  rich  alluvial  plain,  stretching  on 
the  left  or  Virginia  bank  of  the  Ohio,  between  the 
junctions  of  Big  and  Little  Grave  creeks  with 
that  stream.  They  appear  to  have  been  connected 
by  low  earthen  intrenchments,  of  which  plain 
traces  are  still  visible  on  some  parts  of  the  com- 
mons. They  included  a  well,  stoned  up  in  the 
usual  manner,  which  is  now  filled  with  rubbish. 

"'The  summit  of  this  plain  is  probably  seventy- 
five  feet  above  the  present  summit-level  of  the 
Ohio. 

"It  constitutes  the  second  bench  or  rise  of  land 
above  the  water.  It  is  on  this  summit,  and  one 
of  the  most  elevated  parts  of  it,  that  the  great 
tumulus  stands.  It  is  in  the  shape  of  a  broad 
cone,  cut  off  at  the  apex,  where  it  is  some  fifty 
feet  across.  This  area  is  quite  level,  and  com- 
mands a  view  of  the  entire  plain,  and  of  the  river 
above  and  below,  and  the  west  shores  of  the 
Ohio  in  front.  Any  public  transaction  on  this 
area  would  be  visible  to  multitudes  around  it, 
and  it  has,  in  this  respect,  all  the  advantages 
of  the  Mexican  and  Yucatanese  teocalli.'  The 
circumference  of  the  base  has  been  stated  at  a 
little  under  900  feet;  the  height  is  69  feet. 

"'The  most  interesting  object  of  antiquarian 
inquiry  is  a  small  flat  stone,  inscribed  with 
antique,  alphabetic  characters,  which  was  dis- 
closed on  the  opening  of  the  mound.  These 
characters  are  in  the  ancient  rock  alphabet  of 

'  A  solid,  four-sided,  truncated  pyramid  built  terrace-wise,  with  a 
temple  on  the  platform  at  the  summit. 


2i6  The  Forest  Primeval 

sixteen  right  and  acute-angled  single  strokes,  used 
by  the  Pelasgi'  and  other  early  Mediterranean 
nations,  and  which  is  the  parent  of  the  modern 
Runic^  as  well  as  the  Bardic.^  It  is  now  some 
four  or  five  years  since  the  completion  of  the 
excavations,  so  far  as  they  have  been  made,  and 
the  discovery  of  this  relic.  Several  copies  of  it 
soon  got  abroad  which  differed  from  each  other, 
and,  it  was  supposed,  from  the  original.  This 
conjecture  is  true.     Neither  the  print  published 

in  the  Cincinnati  Ga- 
zette, m  1839, nor  that 
in  the  American  Pio- 
neer, in  1843,  is 
correct.  I  have 
terminated  this  un- 
certainty by  taking 
copies  by  a  scientific 
process,  which  does 
not  leave  the  lines  and  figures  to  the  uncer- 
tainty of  man's  pencil."'* 

This  great  mound  was  therefore  the  burial- 
place  of  three  distinguished  persons,  one  alone, 
in  the  upper  chamber,  and  two,  probably  a 
mighty  warrior  and  his  favourite  wife,  in  the 
lower. 


'  An  ancient  race,  widely  spread  over  Greece  and  the  coasts  and 
islands  of  the  ^gean  Sea  and  the  Mediterranean  generally,  in  pre- 
historic times. 

^  The  letters  used  by  the  peoples  of  Northern  Europe  from  an  early 
period  to  the  eleventh  century. 

3  The  language  of  the  bards  among  the  ancient  Celts. 

*  Howe's  Virginia,  its  History  and  Antiquities,  pp.  369-71. 


CAAveO   STONE  FOUND 


Burial  Mounds  217 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  bodies  of  the 
three  great  personages  in  whose  special  honor 
the  mound  was  raised,  were  deposited  in  their 
chambers  unburnt,  while  the  central  part  of  the 
mound  is  full  of  the  remains  of  a  large  number 
of  other  corpses  which  had  been  burnt. 

It  was  characteristic  of  the  Stone  Age  in 
Northern  Europe,  to  deposit  bodies  in  such 
chambers  as  these  unburnt.  The  chambers 
were  then  filled  with  earth,  and  the  whole  covered 
with  earth.  Together  with  the  body  were  de- 
posited arrow-heads,  lances,  chisels,  and  axes 
of  flint,  implements  of  bone,  ornaments  of  amber 
or  bone,  and  earthen  vessels  filled  with  loose 
earth.  Around  these  mounds  were  circles  of 
stone,  often  of  considerable  circumference. 

It  was  characteristic  of  the  Bronze-period  to 
burn  the  bodies. 

Worsaae  tells  us  that:  "At  the  summit  and 
on  the  sides  of  a  barrow  are  often  found  vessels 
of  clay  with  burnt  bones  and  articles  of  bronze, 
while  at  the  base  of  the  hill  we  meet  with  the 
ancient  cromlechs  or  giants'  chambers,  with 
unburnt  bodies  and  objects  of  stone.  From  this 
it  is  obvious  that  at  a  later  time,  possibly  centu- 
ries after,  poorer  persons  who  had  not  the  means 
to  construct  barrows,  used  the  ancient  tombs  of 
the  Stone-period,  which  they  could  do  with  the 
more  security,  since  a  barrow  which  is  piled 
above  a  giant's  chamber  had  exactly  the  same 
appearance  as  a  barrow  of  the  Bronze-period."' 

'  Primeval  Antiquities,  p.  94. 


2i8  The  Forest  Primeval 

Viewing  the  great  mound  with  these  ideas  in 
our  mind,  the  facts  related  in  connection  with 
its  opening,  become  more  interesting  and  signi- 
ficant than  ever. 

It  appeared  that  the  lower  vault  had  been 
excavated  in  the  earth  before  the  mound  was 
commenced.  This  chamber  was  nearly  filled 
with  earth  when  opened.  Had  it  been  entirely 
filled  it  would  have  been  in  the  same  condition  in 
which  those  in  Europe  were  purposely  arranged 
during  the  Stone-period.  It  is  stated  though, 
that  in  this  instance  this  was  due  to  the  decay 
of  the  timbers,  which  held  up  the  stones  which 
formed  the  roof.  All  had  fallen  in.  Here  were 
two  skeletons,  surrounded  with  ivory  beads  and 
other  articles. 

This  chamber  covered  with  earth  was  probably 
all  of  the  original  structure. 

It  may  have  been  centuries  after  this  that 
another  chamber  was  built  on  top  of  this  mound. 
Another  great  man  was  buried.  His  arms  were 
adorned  with  copper  bracelets,  and  his  name  and 
his  deeds  were  probably  recorded  on  the  hiero- 
glyphical  stone  placed  by  his  body,  to  give  to 
another  age  a  message  which  we  are  all  too 
ignorant  to  decipher. 

The  age  of  Bronze  now  comes,  and  one  by  one, 
or  possibly,  many  at  a  time,  the  bodies  of  the 
dead  are  burnt,  and  their  charred  remains  are 
deposited  on  the  sides  of  the  tumulus,  carefully 
covered  with  earth.  The  mound  thus  grows 
greater  and  greater,  and  becomes  the  cemetery  of 


Burial  Mounds  219 

a  tribe,  as  well  as  the  tomb  of  its  most  illustrious 
chieftains,  until  that  tribe,  like  its  individual 
members  have  done,  itself  vanishes  from  the  face 
of  the  earth. 

When  seen  by  the  writer  in  1909,  the  condition 
of  this  mound  afforded  a  sad  contrast  to  that 
at  Marietta.  One  was  perfectly  kept,  the  other 
was  perfectly  neglected.  Around  the  West  Vir- 
ginia Mound,  was  no  encircling  space,  moat,  nor 
rampart.  It  uncomfortably  occupied  the  larger 
part  of  a  small  city  square.  It  was  surrounded 
by  streets  which  had  been  graded  and  paved, 
and  all  of  the  interesting  outworks,  such  as  exist 
at  Marietta,  if  they  ever  existed  here,  have  been 
utterly  obliterated  by  a  desecrating  race-track, 
which  once  ran  around  it,  and  later  by  the  grad- 
ing of  the  streets.  But  there  seems  to  be  no 
tradition  here  of  these  circles  having  existed. 

In  fact,  this  great  mound,  after  centuries  of 
honor,  had  the  misfortune  to  go  through  a 
dreary  period  of  humiliation.  The  "observa- 
tory" built  by  Tomlinson,  or  some  other 
building  which  succeeded  it,  was  once  used 
as  a  restaurant  and  dancing  pavilion.  Level- 
ing the  top  of  the  mound  for  this  house  took  off 
eleven  feet  of  its  height,  which  was  originally 
ninety,  reducing  It  to  seventy-nine,  according 
to  the  present  local  measurement.  About  the 
mound  was  established  the  Fair  Grounds,  and 
around  this  noble  monument  of  antiquity, 
erected  to  the  dead,  was  constructed  the  race- 
track over  which  horses  ran   at  every  county 


220  The  Forest  Primeval 

fair.  The  curiosity  of  the  white  man  caused  the 
two  openings  to  be  made  in  it,  which,  together 
with  the  giving  away  of  the  timbers  of  the  two 
vaults,  has  caused  the  falling  in  of  the  earth 
through  the  center  of  the  mound,  although  the 
shaft  and  tunnel  were  walled  up,  taking  for  this 
purpose  eighty-five  thousand  bricks. 

The  top  is  now  about  150  feet  in  circumference 
and  presents  the  appearance  of  a  rim  of  earth 
surrounding  a  cup-shaped  depression,  in  about 
the  center  of  which  is  a  black  hole.  The 
opening  on  the  north  side,  mentioned  by  Howe, 
is  said  to  have  been  about  seven  feet  wide,  ten 
high,  and  ran  back,  gradually  decreasing  in  size, 
to  the  center  of  the  mound.  Then  the  shaft  was 
sunk  through  the  top,  met  the  second  vault  about 
thirty-four  feet  above  the  lower  vault,  and  went 
down  through  the  mound  to  the  other  vault. 
The  mound  being  composed  of  loose  earth,  caved 
in. 

No  care  having  apparently  been  taken  to 
prevent  it,  the  sides  are  deeply  marked  by  rains, 
and  worn  away  by  many  foot-paths,  difficult 
enough  to  ascend,  and  the  whole  lies  unenclosed, 
liable  to  depredation  and  injury  of  every  kind. 
About  forty  large  trees,  and  many  smaller  ones, 
are  now  growing  upon  it,  which  give  it  the 
appearance  of  a  well-wooded  hill. 

So  great  is  this  mound,  the  circumference  at 
its  base  being  considerably  greater  than  the 
outside  ring  around  the  Marietta  mound,  that 
had  it  been  similarly  enclosed,  its  outlying  en- 


Burial  Mounds  221 

circling  rampart  would  have  taken  in  an  area 
equal  to  several  squares  of  the  town.  It  may 
have  been  that  these  very  circles  suggested  the 
race-track. 

The  local  belief  is  that  the  earth  which  was 
used  to  build  this  giant  tumulus,  was  taken  from 
a  spot  between  a  quarter  and  a  half  of  a  mile 
away  from  it,  known  as  "The  Basin,"  which 
lies  on  the  north  side  of  one  of  the  principal 
streets,  between  the  mound  and  the  railroad 
station.  This  basin,  enormous  in  area,  has  every 
appearance  of  having  been  artificially  created. 
It  breaks  into  the  general  slope  of  the  land,  its 
sides  have  not  the  curves  of  a  natural  hollow; 
and  its  soil  is  of  the  same  character  as  that  com- 
posing the  mound.  Those  who  dug  that  basin 
and  built  that  mound,  succeeded  in  accomplish- 
ing a  herculean  undertaking. 

We  are  glad  to  say  that  better  days  are  ahead. 
After  years  of  work,  the  legislators  of  the  State 
of  West  Virginia  have  been  brought  to  partially 
appreciate  the  monument  they  have  within  their 
borders,  and  when  it  was  in  actual  danger  of  being 
destroyed,  or  falling  into  utter  ruin,  they  bought 
the  property  for  the  State,  which  will  preserve 
it.  Some  work  has  already  been  done  in  clearing 
oflF  its  sides,  and  before  long  it  may  be  put  and 
kept  in  good  condition,  and  so  be  properly  handed 
down  to  posterity. 

As  this  work  is  historical  only,  the  interesting 
question  of  who  built  these  mounds,  whether 
the  Indians  who  lived  here  at  the  time  of  the 


222  The  Forest  Primeval 

English  invasion,  or  some  older  race,  we  leave 
to  anthropology  and  archaeology,  to  which  we 
^  also  leave  the  question  of  whence  the  Indians 
themselves  came. 

Parkman  gives  an  absorbingly  interesting 
account  of  a  funeral  rite  which  existed,  and 
was  practised  by  the  Hurons  up  to  the  time 
of  the  French  occupation  of  Canada.'  Every 
ten  or  twelve  years,  says  he,  the  bodies  of 
all  who  had  died  during  that  period  were 
lowered  from  their  scaffolds  or  lifted  from  their 
graves,  and  deposited  in  one  common  sepulchre. 
Such  was  no  doubt  the  origin  of  the  barrows 
which  were  found  in  Virginia,  but  we  know  of  no 
statement  by  any  of  our  early  writers  which 
would  indicate  that  any  of  them  were  constructed 
during  the  period  of  the  English  occupation  of 
Virginia. 

But  these  mounds,  simple  in  construction,  do 
not  compare  in  interest  to  this  great  mound  at 
Moundsville,  which,  with  its  chambers  one  above 
the  other,  carries  us  back  to  the  barrows  of  the 
Stone-period,  the  giants'  chambers  and  crom- 
lechs of  the  Stone  Age  of  Europe. 

'  T]ie  Jesuits  in  North  America,  pp.  71-8. 


-^ 


CHAPTER  XVI 

PRIESTS    AND    CONJURERS 

OF  all  the  opponents  to  the  English,  the 
priests  and  conjurers  were  the  most 
bitter.  Not  only  did  the  coming  of  the 
White  Man  threaten  political,  social,  and  eco- 
nomic revolution,  but  one  of  its  objects  was  the 
conversion  of  the  heathen  to  Christianity.  This 
the  priests  held  to  be  an  immediate  attack  upon 
them,  and  the  whole  system  of  which  they  were 
the  exponents. 

This  opposition  Strachey  thus  describes: 
"Indeed  their  priests,  being  the  ministers  of 
Satan  (who  is  very  likely  or  visibly  conversant 
amongst  them),  fear  and  tremble  lest  the  knowl- 
edge of  God,  and  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ, 
should  be  taught  in  those  parts,  do  now  with  the 
more  vehemency  persuade  the  people  to  hold 
on  their  wonted  ceremonies,  and  every  year  to 
sacrifice  still  their  own  children  to  the  ancient 
God  of  their  fathers,  and  it  is  supposed  gain 
double  oblations  this  way,  by  reason  they  do 
at  all  times  so  absolutely  govern  and  direct  the 
wer-6-ances,  or  lords  of  countries,  in  all  their 
actions,  and  this  custom  he  hath  politically  main- 
223 


224  The  Forest  Primeval 

talned,  and  doth  yet  universally,  a  few  places 
excepted,  over  all  the  Indies. 

"To  have  suffered  still,  therefore,  me  thinks, 
these  priests  of  Baal  or  Beelzebub,  were  greatly 
offensive  to  the  majesty  of  God,  and  most  peril- 
ous for  the  English  to  inhabit  within  those 
parts;  for  these  their  qui-yough-qui-socks  or 
prophets  be  they  that  persuade  their  wer-6-ances 
to  resist  our  settlement,  and  tell  them  how  much 
their  0-ke-us  will  be  offended  with  them,  and 
that  he  will  not  be  appeased  with  a  sacrifice 
of  a  thousand,  nay  a  hecatomb  of  their  chil- 
dren, if  they  permit  a  nation,  despising  the 
ancient  religion  of  their  forefathers,  to  inhabit 
among  them,  since  their  own  gods  have  hitherto 
preserved  them,  and  given  them  victory  over 
their  enemies,  from  age  to  age."^ 

Strachey  also  gives  us  the  following  account  of 
the  priests  and  their  principal  stronghold: 

"Their  principal  temple,  or  place  of  supersti- 
tion, is  at  Ut-ta-mus-sack,at  Pa-mun-key.^  Near 
unto  the  town,  within  the  woods,  is  a  chief  holy 
house,  proper  to^  Powhatan,  upon  the  top  of 
certain  red  sandy  hills,  and  it  is  accompanied 
with  two  others  sixty  feet  in  length,  filled  with 
images  of  their  kings  and  devils,  and  tombs  of 
the  predecessors.  This  place  they  count  so 
holy  as  that  none  but  the  priests  and  kings  dare 
come  therein. 

'  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  pp.  83-4. 
^  The  name  of  the  region  lying  between  the  Pa-mun-key  and  the 
Mat-ta-po-ny  Rivers. 

3  The  private  property  of,  or  especially  appropriat°d  to. 


Priests  and  Conjurers  225 

"In  this,  as  the  Grecian  nlgromancers'  psycho 
mantie'  did  use  to  call  up  spirits,  either  the 
priests  have  conference,  or  consult,  indeed, 
with  the  devil,  and  receive  verbal  answers, 
and  so  saith  Acosta^;  he  spake  to  the  /Soinj 
or  chaplains  of  the  West  Indies,  in  their 
guacas  or  oratories,  or  at  least  these  conjurers 
make  the  simple  laity  so  to  believe,  who,  there- 
fore, so  much  are  the  people  at  the  priests' 
devotion,  are  ready  to  execute  any  thing,  how 
desperate  soever,  which  they  shall  command. 
The  savages  dare  not  go  up  the  river  in  boats  by 
it,  but  that  the}'  solemnly  cast  some  piece  of  cop- 
per, white  beads,  or  po-chones^  into  the  river,  for 
fear  that  0-ke-us  should  be  offended  and  revenged 
of  them.  In  this  place  commonly  are  resident 
seven  priests,  the  chief  differing  from  the  rest 
in  his  ornament,  whilst  the  inferior  priests  can 
hardly  be  known  from  the  common  people,  save 
that  they  had  not  (it  may  be,  may  be  not  have) 
so  many  holes  in  their  ears  to  hang  their  jewels 
at. 

"The  ornaments  of  the  chief  priest  were,  upon 
his  shoulders  a  middle-sized  cloak  of  feathers 
much  like  the  old  sacrificing  garment  which 
Isodorus'^  calls  casslola,  and  the  burlett  or  attire 
of  his  head  was  thus  made:  some  twelve  or  six- 
teen or    more    snakes'   sloughs    or    skins   were 

'  Magicians'  power  over  the  souls  of  others. 
'  A  Spanish  Jesuit  historian  and  archaeologist. 
3  Pieces  of  the  root  puccoon,  from  which  a  red  dye  was  made. 
^  Isodorus,  a  native  of  Charax,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Tigris.     He 
was  a  writer  of  the  time  of  Caligula. 
IS 


226  The  Forest  Primeval 

stuffed  with  moss,  and  of  weasels  or  other  vermin 
were  skins  perhaps  as  many:  all  these  were  tied 
by  the  tails,  so  as  their  tails  meet  In  the  top  of 
the  head  like  a  great  tassel,  and  round  about  the 
tassel  was  circled  a  coronet,  as  it  were,  of  feathers, 
the  skins  hanging  round  about  his  head,  neck, 
and  shoulders,  and  in  a  manner  covering  his 
face. 

"The  faces  of  all  their  priests  are  painted 
so  ugly  as  they  can  devise;  in  their  hands  they 
carry  every  one  his  rattle,  for  the  most  part  as  a 
symbol  of  his  place  and  profession,  some  base,^ 
some  smaller.  Their  devotion^  is  most  in  songs, 
which  the  chief  priest  begins  and  the  rest  fol- 
low him;  sometimes  he  makes  invocation  with 
broken  sentences,  by  starts  and  strange  passions, 
and  at  every  pause  the  rest  of  the  priests  give  a 
short  groan.  "^ 

The  exact  location  of  this  sacred  town  of 
Ut-ta-mus-sack  we  can  probably  determine. 
The  old  maps  show  it  to  be  situated  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Pamunkey  River,  just  before  it  makes 
its  sharp  curves  before  it  flows  into  the  York. 
The  Pamunkey  Indian  reservation  is  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  Pamunkey  just  at  this  same  point. 
These  two  locations  are  one  and  the  same. 

Ut-ta-mus-sack  was  therefore  situated  upon  the 
land  which  has  never  yet  been  out  of  the  pos- 
session of  the  Pamunkey  tribe.     The  more  we 


'  The  large  rattles  would  give  the  base  notes,  the  smaller  ones  the 
treble.  ^  Religious  service. 

3  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  90. 


Priests  and  Conjurers  227 

think  of  It,  the  more  natural  this  conclusion  ap- 
pears to  be.  This  town  was  the  headquarters  of 
the  priests,  it  was  their  special  stronghold.  The 
priests  directed  the  affairs  of  the  tribe.  The 
tribe  made  peace  with  the  Virginians,  became 
tributary  to  Virginia,  and  had  a  tract  of  land, 
assigned  for  Its  own  special  possession.  In 
selecting  the  land  to  be  allotted  to  them,  the 
priests  of  this  tribe  would  naturally  ask  for  that 
to  which  they  attached  the  most  importance, 
and  that  spot  would  be  the  one  which  had  been 
held  in  such  reverence  for  generations,  where 
their  temples  were,  and  where  the  dead  bodies  of 
their  kings  had  so  long  reposed — this  St.  Denis 
of  the  forest. 

The  conjuration  of  these  priests  Is  thus  de- 
scribed by  Strachey: 

"They  have  also  divers  conjurations:  one 
they  made  at  what  time  they  had  taken  Captain 
Smith  prisoner,  to  know,  as  they  reported,  if 
any  more  of  his  countrymen  would  arrive  there, 
and  what  they  Intended:  the  manner  of  It  Cap- 
tain Smith  observed  to  be  as  followeth:  first 
so  soon  as  day  was  shut  In,  they  kindled  a  fair 
great  fire  In  a  lone  house,  about  which  assembled 
seven  priests,  taking  Captain  Smith  by  the  hand, 
and  appointing  him  his  seat.  About  the  fire  they 
made  a  kind  of  enchanted  circle  of  meal;  that 
done,  the  chlefest  priest,  attired  as  Is  expressed, 
gravely  began  to  sing  and  shake  his  rattle, 
solemnly  rounding  and  marching  about  the  fire, 
the  rest  followed  him  silently  until  his  song  was 


228  The  Forest  Primeval 

done,  which  they  all  shut  up  with  a  groan.  At 
the  end  of  the  first  song  the  chief  priest  laid  down 
certain  grains  of  wheat,  and  so  continued  howl- 
ing and  invoking  their  0-ke-us  to  stand  firm  and 
powerful  to  them  in  divers  varieties  of  songs,  still 
counting  the  songs  by  the  grains,  until  they  had 
circled  the  fire  three  times,  then  they  divided 
the  grains  by  certain  number  with  little  sticks, 
all  the  while  muttering  some  impious  thing 
unto  themselves,  oftentimes  looking  upon  Capt. 
Smith. 

''In  this  manner  they  continued  ten  or 
twelve  hours  without  any  other  ceremonies  or 
intermission,  with  such  violent  stretching  of  their 
arms,  and  various  passions,  jestures,  and  symp- 
toms, as  might  well  seem  strange  to  him  before 
whom  they  so  conjured,  and  who  every  hour  ex- 
pected to  be  the  hoast'  and  one  of  their  sacrifice. 
Not  any  meat  did  they  eat  until  it  was  very  late, 
and  the  night  far  spent.  About  the  rising  of  the 
morning  star  they  seemed  to  have  finished  their 
work  of  darkness,  and  then  drew  forth  such  pro- 
vision as  was  in  the  said  house,  and  feasted  them- 
selves and  him  with  much  mirth.  Three  or  four 
days  they  continued  these  elvish^  ceremonies. 

"Now  besides  this  manner  of  conjurations 
thus  within  doors  (as  we  read  the  augurers  in 
the  old  times  of  the  like  superstition,  did  as- 
cend or  go  up  into  the  certain  towers  or  high 
places,  called  therefore  auguracula,  to  divine 
of  matters),  so  do  they  go  forth,  and  either  upon 

» Host,  victim  oflFered  in  sacrifice.  *  Witch-like. 


Priests  and  Conjurers  229 

some  rock  standing  alone,  or  upon  some  desolate 
promontory  top,  or  else  into  the  midst  of  thick 
and  solitary  woods  they  call  upon  their  o-ke-us 
and  importune  their  other  qui-ough-co-sughes 
with  most  impetuous  and  interminate  clamors 
and  howling,  and  with  such  pains  and  strained 
actions,  as  the  neighbor  places  echo  again  of  the 
same,  and  themselves  are  all  in  a  sweat  and  over 
wearied." 

"They  have  also  another  kind  of  sorcery  which 
they  use  in  storms,  a  kind  of  botanomantia  ^ 
with  herbs;  when  the  waters  are  rough  in  the 
rivers  and  sea-coasts,  their  conjurers  run  to  the 
water  sides,  or,  passing  in  their  quin-tans,  after 
many  hellish  outcries  and  invocations,  they  cast 
whe-si-can,^  tobacco,  copper,  po-cones,  or  such 
trash  into  the  water,  to  pacify  that  god  whom 
they  think  to  be  very  angry  in  those  storms."^ 

"  Po-cones  is  a  small  root  that  groweth  in  the 
mountains,  which,  being  dried  and  beat  into 
powder,  turneth  red,  and  this  they  use  for  swell- 
ings, aches,  anointing  their  joints,  painting  their 
heads  and  garments  with  it,  for  which  they 
account  it  very  precious  and  of  much  worth.  ""* 

"It  could  not  be  perceived  that  they  keep  any 
day  as  more  holy  than  other:  but  only  in  some 
great  distress  of  want,  fear  of  enemies,  times  of 
triumph  and  gathering  together  their  fruits,  the 
whole  country  of  men,  women,  and  children  come 

'  "Soothsaying  from  herbs. "  ^  A  bone. 

3  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  pp.  92-3. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  121. 


230  The  Forest  Primeval 

together  to  solemnities.  The  manner  of  their 
devotion  Is,  sometimes  to  make  a  great  fire, 
in  the  house  or  fields,  and  all  to  sing  and 
dance  about  It  with  rattles  and  shouts  to- 
gether, four  or  five  hours.  Sometimes  they  set 
a  man  In  the  midst,  and  about  him  they  dance 
and  sing,  he  all  the  while  clapping  his  hands,  as 
if  he  would  keep  time,  and  after  their  songs  and 
dancings  ended,  they  go  to  their  feasts. 

"They  have  also  certain  altar-stones  they  call 
Paw-co-ran-ces,  but  these  stand  from  their 
temples,  some  by  their  houses,  others  in  the 
woods  and  wildernesses,  where  they  have  had 
any  extraordinary  accident  or  encounter.  And 
as  you  travel,  at  those  stones  they  will  tell  you 
the  cause  why  they  were  there  erected,  which 
from  age  to  age  they  instruct  their  children,  as 
their  best  records  of  antiquities.  Upon  these 
they  offer  blood,  deer-suet,  and  tobacco.  This 
they  do  when  they  return  from  the  wars,  from 
hunting,  and  upon  many  other  occasions."' 

"The  priests  of  the  aforesaid  town  of  Se-co-ta^ 
are  well  stricken  in  years,  and  as  it  seemeth  of 
more  experience  than  the  common  sort.  They 
wear  their  hair  cut  like  a  crest,  on  the  top  of  their 
heads  as  others  do,  but  the  rest  are  cut  short 
saving^  those  which  grow  above  their  foreheads 
in  manner  of  a  perriwigge.^  They  also  have 
somewhat  hanging  in  their  ears.     They  wear  a 

'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  140. 

»  An  Indian  town  in  what  is  now  Beaufort  County,  N.  C. 

3  Excepting.  "  Wig. 


Priests  and  Conjurers  231 

short  clocke '  made  of  fine  hares'  skins  quilted 
with  the  hair  outwards.  The  rest  of  their  body 
is  naked.  They  are  notable  enchanters,  and 
for  their  pleasure  they  frequent  the  rivers  to 
kill  with  their  bows,  and  catch  wild  ducks,  swans, 
and  other  fowls. " 

"They  have  commonly  conjurers  or  jugglers 
which  use  strange  gestures,  and  often  contrary 
to  nature  in  their  enchantments:  For  they  be 
very  familiar  with  devils,  of  whom  they  inquire 
what  their  enemies  do,  or  other  such  things. 
They  shave  all  their  heads  saving  their  crest, 
which  they  wear  as  others  do,  and  fasten  a  small 
black  bird  above  one  of  their  ears^  as  a  badge  of 
their  office.  They  wear  a  bag  by  their  side  as  is 
expressed  In  the  figure.  The  inhabitants  give 
great  credit  unto  their  speech,  which  oftentimes 
they  find  to  be  true.  "^ 

"I  don't  find  that  the  Indians  have  any  other 
distinction  In  their  dress,  or  the  fashion  of  their 
hair,  than  only  what  a  greater  degree  of  riches 
enables  them  to  make:  except  it  be  their  religious 
persons,  who  are  known  by  the  particular  cut  of 
the  hair,  and  the  unusual  figure  of  their  garments; 
as  our  clergy  are  distinguished  by  their  canonical 
habit.  ^ 

"The  habit  of  the  Indian  priest,  is  a  cloak 

'  Cloak — a  garment  shaped  like  a  bell.  The  word  clock  means  bell, 
the  sounding  of  the  hour  by  a  bell  being  its  characteristic.  The 
garment  took  its  name  from  its  similarity  in  shape  to  a  bell. 

'  May  not  this  be  the  origin  of  the  expression — a  little  bird  told 
such  and  such  a  thing? 

^  Harlot's  Narrative,  v.,  xi.  *  Coat. 


232  The  Forest  Primeval 

made  in  the  form  of  a  woman's  petticoat,  but 
instead  of  tying  it  about  their  middle,  they  fasten 
the  gatherings  about  their  neck,  and  tie  it  upon 
the  right  shoulder,  always  keeping  one  arm  out 
to  use  upon  occasion.  This  cloak  hangs  even 
at  the  bottom  but  reaches  no  lower  than  the 
middle  of  the  thigh;  but  what  is  most  particular 
in  it,  is,  that  it  is  constantly^  made  of  a  skin 
dressed  soft,  with  the  pelt  or  fur  on  the  outside, 
and  reversed;  insomuch,  that  when  the  cloak 
has  been  a  little  worn,  the  hair  falls  down  in 
flakes,  and  looks  very  shagged,  and  frightful. 

"  The  cut  of  their  hair  is  likewise  peculiar  to 
their  function^;  for  'tis  all  shaven  close  except  a 
thin  crest,  like  a  cock's-comb  which  stands 
bristling  up,  and  runs  in  a  semicircle  from  the 
forehead  up  along  the  crown  to  the  nape  of  the 
neck.  They  likewise  have  a  border  of  hair  over 
the  forehead,  which  by  its  own  natural  strength, 
and  by  the  stiffening  it  receives  from  grease  and 
paint,  will  stand  out  like  the  peak^  of  a  bonnet. " 

"  He  (the  conjurer)  as  well  as  the  priest,  is 
commonly  grimed  with  soot  or  the  like;  to  save 
his  modesty  he  hangs  an  otter-skin  at  his  girdle, 
fastening  the  tail  between  his  legs:  upon  his 
thigh  hangs  his  pocket,  which  is  fastened  by 
tucking  it  under  his  girdle,  the  bottom  of  this 
Hkewise  is  fringed  with  tassels  for  ornament  sake. 
In  the  middle  between  them  is  the  hus-ka-naw- 
ing  pen.  "^ 

'  Invariably.  ^  Office.  ^  Projecting  part. 

4  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  5-6. 


Priests  and  Conjurers  233 

Spelman  agrees  with  the  above,  in  his  account 
of  the  style  of  dressing  the  hair  adopted  by  the 
priests,  but  adds  the  fact  that  some  had  beards.  "^ 

That  these  conjurers  exercised  a  powerful 
control  over  the  minds  of  the  savages  we  are 
fully  prepared  to  believe,  when  we  read  T.  M.'s 
account  of  Bacon's  rebellion,  reciting  events 
which  occurred  as  late  as  the  year  1676.  A 
drought  existed  throughout  the  plantations  that 
summer,  while  rain  poured  down  every  day  upon 
Bacon  and  his  troops  in  the  forest.  This  rain 
was  believed  by  the  English  to  be  due  to  the 
**pau-waw-ings,"  that  is,  the  sorceries,  of  the 
Indians,  who  in  this  way  obstructed  the  move- 
ments of  Bacon's  troops  in  his  war  upon  them. 

Beverley  has  this  to  say  of  them:  "The  priests 
and  conjurers  are  also  of  great  authority,  the 
people  having  recourse  to  them  for  counsel  and 
direction,  upon  all  occasions;  by  which  means, 
and  by  help  of  the  first  fruits  and  frequent 
offerings,  they  riot  in  the  fat  of  the  land,  and 
grow  rich  upon  the  spoils  of  their  ignorant 
countrymen." "" 

The  Indian  priests  are  thus  described  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Whittaker,  writing  from  Henrico  in 
1613:  "Their  priests  (whom  they  call  quick-o- 
soughs)  are  no  other  but  such  as  our  English 
witches  are.  They  live  naked  in  body,  as  if 
their  shame  of  their  sin  deserved  no  covering. 
Their  names  are  as  naked  as  their  body;  they 

'  Spelman's  Relation  of  Virginia,  p.  52. 
'  Beverley,  book  3,  p.  57. 


234  The  Forest  Primeval 

esteem  it  a  virtue  to  lie,  deceive,  and  steal,  as 
their  master  the  Devil  teacheth  them.  .  .  .  They 
(that  is,  all  the  other  Indians),  stand  in  great 
awe  of  the  quick-o-soughs  or  priests,  which  are  a 
generation  of  vipers,  even  Satan's  own  brood. 
The  manner  of  their  life  is  much  like  to  the  Popish 
hermits  of  our  age;  for  they  live  alone  in  the 
woods,  in  houses  sequestered  from  the  common 
course  of  men;  neither  may  any  man  be  suffered 
to  come  into  their  house,  or  speak  to  them,  but 
when  the  priest  doth  call  them.  He  taketh  no 
care  of  his  victuals;  for  all  such  kind  of  things, 
both  bread  and  water,  etc.,  are  brought  into  a 
place  near  his  cottage  and  there  left,  which  he 
fetcheth  for  his  proper  needs.  If  they  would 
have  rain,  or  have  lost  anything,  they  have 
recourse  to  him,  who  conjureth  for  them  and 
many  times  prevaileth.'  If  they  be  sick,  he  is 
their  physician;  if  they  be  wounded,  he  sucketh^ 
them.  At  his  command  they  make  war  and 
peace;  neither  do  they  anything  of  moment 
without  him."  ^ 

"I  can't  understand  that  their  women  ever 
pretended  to  intermeddle  with  any  offices  that 
relate  to  the  priesthood,  or  conjuration."-^ 

This  belief  in  the  supernatural  powers  of  the 
Indian  priests  to  produce  rain  at  will,  was  widely 
spread  and  seems  to  have  been  generally  enter- 

»  The  people  of  this  period  were  firm  beUevers  in  witchcraft,  both 
at  home  and  abroad. 

'  That  is,  sucks  the  blood  from  around  the  wound,  to  cleanse  it. 
3  Purchas,  vol.  iv.,  p.  1771.  "  Beverley,  book  3,  p.  47. 


Priests  and  Conjurers  235 

tained.  Glover  also  mentions  it.  He  says: 
"When  they  have  great  want  of  rain,  one  of  their 
priests  will  go  into  a  private  cabin,  and  by  his 
invocations  will  cause  abundance  to  fall  im- 
mediately, which  they  call  making  of  rain. "  ^ 

So  deeply  seated  was  the  animosity  against 
the  Indian  priests,  that  Strachey  was  evidently 
in  favor  of  the  "surreption"  of  them,  that  is 
of  getting  possession  of  them  all  by  craft,  or  by 
stealth,  if  necessary.  This  he  viewed  as  indis- 
pensable for  the  safety  of  the  colonists  and  the 
enlargement  of  the  plantation.  He  thus  ex- 
presses himself: 

"Yet  no  Spanish  intention  shall  be  entertained 
by  us,  neither  hereby  to  root  out  the  naturals,^ 
as  the  Spaniards  have  done  in  Hlspanlola^  and 
other  parts,  but  only  to  take  from  them  these 
seducers,  until  when  they  [that  Is,  until  this  be 
done  the  rest  of  the  Indians]  will  never  know  God 
nor  obey  the  King's  majesty,  and  by  which 
means  we  shall  by  degrees  change  their  bar- 
barous natures,  make  them  ashamed  the  sooner 
of  their  savage  nakedness,  inform  them  of  the 
true  God  and  of  the  way  to  their  salvation,  and, 
finally,  teach  them  obedience  to  the  King's 
majesty  and  to  his  governors  In  those  parts,  de- 
claring (In  the  attempt  thereof)  unto  the  several 
wer-6-ances,  and  making  the  common  people 
likewise  to  understand,  how  that  his  majesty 
hath  been  acquainted,  that  the  men,  women,  and 

^Account  of  Virginia,  p.  24. 

*  Natives  of  the  country.  3  Haiti. 


236  The  Forest  Primeval 

children  of  the  first  plantation  at  Roanoke  were 
by  practice  and  commandment  of  Powhatan 
(he  himself  persuaded  thereunto  by  his  priests) 
miserably  slaughtered,  without  any  offence  given 
him  either  by  the  first  planted'  (who  twenty  and 
odd  years'  had  peaceably  lived  intermixed  with 
those  savages,  and  were  out  of  his  territory)  or 
by  those  who  now  are  come  to  inhabit  some  part 
of  his  desert  lands,  and  to  trade  with  him  for 
some  commodities  of  ours,  which  he  and  his 
people  stand  in  want  of;  notwithstanding,  be- 
cause his  majesty  is,  of  all  the  world,  the  most  just 
and  the  most  merciful  prince,  he  hath  given  or- 
der that  Powhatan  himself,  with  the  wer-6-ances 
and  all  the  people,  shall  be  spared,  and  revenge 
only  taken  upon  his  qui-yough-qui-socks,  by 
whose  advice  and  persuasions  was  exercised  that 
bloody  cruelty." 

He  then  proceeds  to  argue  the  benefits  which 
would  come  to  the  Indians  to  be  taken  under  the 
milder  rule  of  King  James  instead  of  the  tyranny 
they  suffered  under  Powhatan,  the  better  price 
they  would  receive  for  their  commodities,  etc., 
and  then  what  ought  to  be  done  if  all  the  priests 
could  be  convened  when  these  things  were  dis- 
cussed.    He  then  concludes: 

"This  being  delivered  in  fit  terms,  by  some 
perfect  interpreter,  and  to  men  that  are  capable 
enough  of  understanding  It,  may  beget  a  fair 
conceit  in  them  of  us  and  our  proceedings,  and 

'  Those  who  were  first  settled  or  planted. 

=  Ago,  or  before  the  coming  of  the  English  to  Jamestown. 


Priests  and  Conjurers  2^1 

leave  them  well  satisfied;  and  Indeed  be  it  be- 
lieved, that  when  so  just  an  occasion  shall  offer 
these  priests  of  Asmodeus  '  or  the  Devil  into  the 
hands  of  the  lord  general,  a  better  time  than 
that  will  not  be  found  to  perform  the  same 
acceptable  service  to  God  that  Jehu,  king  of 
Israel,  did,  when  he  assembled  all  the  priests  of 
Baal,  and  slew  them,  to  the  last  man,  in  their 
own  temple.  Of  this  may  every  vulgar  sense  be 
well  assured,  that  seeing  these  monsters  do  offer 
up  unto  the  devil  their  own  children,  and  being 
hardened  against  all  compassion,  natural  and 
divine,  enforce  their  own  mothers  to  deliver  them 
to  the  executioner  with  their  own  hands,  they 
will  easily  condescend  unto,  and  assist  the 
destruction  and  extirpation  of  all  strangers, 
knowing  or  acknowledging  the  true  God. "  ^ 

'  In  Jewish  demonology  a  destructive  devil,  lame,  and  often  re- 
ferred to  as  the  destroyer  of  domestic  happiness. 

*  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  pp.  85-86;  88-89. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

RELIGION 

THE  religion  of  the  Indians  was  polytheistic 
and  idolatrous.  Like  most  primitive 
nations  they  were  strongly  Imbued  with 
superstition.  One  of  the  objects  of  the  settle- 
ment of  Virginia  was  to  Christianize  the  natives. 
Their  views  on  religion  were  looked  upon  by  the 
English  with  abhorrence,  as  founded  on  the 
darkest  Ignorance,  and  their  priests  and  con- 
jurers were  regarded  as  representatives  of  Satan 
himself.  The  latter  were  found  to  be  the  most 
determined  opponents  of  the  English,  who,  not 
entirely  free  from  superstition  themselves,  at- 
tributed supernatural  powers  to  these  Indian 
priests  nearly  as  great  as  was  believed  to  be  the 
case  by  the  natives. 

The  Indians'  ideas  on  religion  were  not  very 
easy  to  determine.  They  were  reticent  about 
them,  and  It  was  with  difficulty  that  the  English 
could  get  them  to  talk  on  this  subject. 

The  first  account  we   have  is  that   given  by 

Harlot,  and  is  a  part  of  his  narrative  written  in 

connection  with  the  expedition  sent  out  by  Sir 

Walter  Raleigh  In  1585.     Here  is  what  he  tells 

238 


Religion  239 

us,  speaking  of  the  Indians  he  saw  In  connection 
with  the  Roanoke  Island  settlement,  who  were 
typical  of  all  in  that  part  of  the  world  : 

"The  people  of  this  country  have  an  idol, 
which  they  call  Ki-was-a:  it  is  carved  of  wood  in 
length  four  feet,  whose  head  Is  like  the  heads  of 
the  people  of  Florida,  the  face  is  of  a  flesh  color, 
the  breast  white,  the  rest  is  all  black,  the  thighs 
are  also  spotted  with  white.  He  hath  a  chain 
about  his  neck  of  white  beads,  between  which  are 
other  round  beads  of  copper  which  they  esteem 
more  than  gold  or  silver.  This  idol  is  placed 
in  the  temple  of  the  town  of  Se-co-tam,  as  the 
keeper  of  the  kings'  dead  corpses.  Sometimes 
they  have  two  of  these  Idols  In  their  churches, 
and  sometimes  three,  but  never  above,'  which 
they  place  in  a  dark  corner  where  they  show 
terrible.'" 

''They  believe  that  there  are  many  gods  which 
they  call  Mon-to-ac,  but  of  different  sorts  and 
degrees;  one  only  chief  and  great  God,  which 
hath  been  from  all  eternity.  Who  as  they  affirm 
when  he  purposed  to  make  the  world,  made  first 
other  gods  of  a  principal  order  to  be  as  means  and 
instruments  to  be  used  In  the  creation  and  govern- 
ment to  follow;  and  after  the  sun,  moon  and  stars, 
as  petty  gods  and  the  instruments  of  the  other 
order  more  principal.  First  they  say  were  made 
waters,  out  of  which  by  the  gods  was  made  all 
diversity  of  creatures  that  are  visible  or  invisible. 

"For  mankind  they  say  a  woman  was  made 

'  Above  that  number.  »  Hariot's  Narrative,  xxi. 


240  The  Forest  Primeval 

first,  which  by  the  working  of  one  of  the  gods, 
conceived  and  brought  forth  children.  And  in 
such  sort  they  say  they  had  their  beginning. 

"But  how  many  years  or  ages  have  passed 
since,  they  say  they  can  make  no  relation,  hav- 
ing no  letters  nor  other  such  means  as  we  keep 
records  of  the  particularities  of  times  past,  but 
only  tradition  from  father  to  son. 

"They  think  that  all  the  gods  are  of  human 
shape,  and  therefore  they  represent  them  by 
images  in  the  forms  of  men,  which  they  call  Ke- 
was-o-wok,  one  alone  is  called  Ke-was ;  them  they 
place  in  houses  appropriate  or  temples  which 
they  call  ma-chi-co-muck;  where  they  worship, 
pray,  sing,  and  make  many  times  offerings  unto 
them.  In  some  ma-chi-co-muck  we  have  seen 
but  one  Ke-was,  in  some  two,  and  in  some  others 
three;  the  common  sort  think  them  to  be  also 
gods. 

"They  believe  also  the  immortality  of  the  soul, 
that  after  this  life  as  soon  as  the  soul  is  departed 
from  the  body,  according  to  the  works  it  hath 
done,  it  is  either  carried  to  heaven  the  habitacle' 
of  gods,  there  to  enjoy  perpetual  bliss  and  happi- 
ness, or  else  to  a  great  pit  or  hole,  which  they 
think  to  be  in  the  furthest  parts  of  their  part  of 
the  world  towards  the  sunset,  there  to  burn 
continually:  the  place  they  call  Po-po-gus-so. 

"For  the  confirmation  of  this  opinion,  they 
told  me  two  stories  of  two  men  that  had  been 
lately  dead  and  revived  again,  the  one  happened 

*  Dwelling-place. 


Their  Idol  in  His  Tabernacle 


9'dcf   caff'd.  OKEE.  QIUOCCOS.  or  /C/VC/A5A  . 

*'  The  dark  edging  shows  the  sides  and  roof  of  the  house,  which 
consists  of  saplings  and  bark.  The  paler  edging  shows 
the  mats  by  which  they  make  a  partition  of  about  ten  feet, 
at  the  end  of  the  house,  for  the  Idol's  abode.  The  Idol 
is  set  upon  his  seat  of  mats,  within  his  dark  recess, 
above  the  people's  heads,  and  the  curtain  is  drawn  up 
before  him." 


Religion  241 

but  few  years  before  our  coming  in  the  country, 
of  a  wicked  man  which  having  been  dead  and 
buried,  the  next  day  the  earth  of  the  grave  being 
seen  to  move,  was  taken  up  again;  who  made 
declaration  where  his  soul  had  been,  that  is  to 
say  very  near  entering  into  Po-po-gus-so,  had 
not  one  of  the  gods  saved  him  and  gave  him  leave 
to  return  again,  and  teach  his  friends  what  they 
should  do  to  avoid  that  terrible  place  of  torment. 

"The  other  happened  in  the  same  year  we  were 
there,  but  in  a  town  that  was  threescore  miles 
from  us,  and  it  was  told  me  for  strange  news  that 
one  being  dead,  buried  and  taken  up  again  as  the 
first,  showed  that  although  his  body  had  lain 
dead  in  the  grave,  yet  his  soul  was  alive,  and  had 
travelled  far  in  a  long  broad  way,  on  both  sides 
whereof  grew  most  delicate  and  pleasant  trees, 
bearing  more  rare  and  excellent  fruits  than  ever 
he  had  seen  before  or  was  able  to  express,  and 
at  length  came  to  most  brave  and  fair '  houses, 
near  which  he  met  his  father,  that  had  been  dead 
before,  who  gave  him  great  charge  to  go  back 
again  and  show  his  friends  what  good  they  were 
to  do  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  that  place,  which 
when  he  had  done  he  should  after  come  again.  "^ 

"Concerning  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  they 
suppose  that  the  common  people  shall  not  live 
after  death;  but  they  think  that  their  wer-6- 
ances  and  priests,  indeed  whom  they  esteem  half 
qui-ough-co-sughes,  when  their  bodies  are  laid  in 


'  Presenting  a  fine  appearance. 
^Lane's  account.     Hakluyt's  Voyages,  vol.  ii.,  p, 
16 


242  The  Forest  Primeval 

the  earth,  that  that  which  is  within  shall  go 
beyond  the  mountains,  and  travel  as  far  as  where 
the  sun  sets,  into  most  pleasant  fields,  grounds 
and  pastures,  where  it  shall  do  no  labor;  but, 
stuck  finely  with  feathers,  and  painted  with  oil 
and  po-cones,  rest  in  all  quiet  and  peace,  and  eat 
delicious  fruits,  and  have  store  of  copper,  beads, 
and  hatchets;  sing,  dance,  and  have  all  variety 
of  delights  and  merriments  till  that  wax  old 
there,  as  the  body  did  on  earth,  and  then  it  shall 
dissolve  and  die,  and  be  new  born  into  the 
world."  ' 

The  belief  which  the  Indians  firmly  enter- 
tained of  the  immortality  of  the  soul  is  strikingly 
brought  out  in  connection  with  the  super- 
stitious awe  with  which  they  regarded  the  white 
men.  At  first  they  considered  them  immortal, 
or,  at  least,  not  subject  to  be  put  to  death  by 
themselves. 

Lane  tells  us  that  En-se-no-re,  the  father  of 
Pe-mis-a-pan,  the  King  of  the  country  which 
included  Roanoke  Island,  held  such  views,  and, 
in  the  councils  of  his  tribe,  urged  them  upon  the 
others. 

At  a  time  when  Lane  returned  safely  from  an 
expedition  on  which  certain  Indians  reported 
that  he  had  perished,  he  says  that  En-se-no-re 
*' renewed  those  his  former  speeches,  both  to  the 
King  and  the  rest,  that  we  were  the  servants  of 
God,  and  that  we  were  not  subject  to  be  de- 
stroyed by  them;  but  contrariwise,   that  they 

'  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  96. 


Religion  243 

amongst  them  that  sought  our  destruction 
should  find  their  own,  and  not  be  able  to  work 
ours,  and  that  we  being  dead  men  were  able  to 
do  them  more  hurt,  than  now  we  could  do  being 
alive;  an  opinion  very  confidently  at  this  day 
holden  by  the  wisest  amongst  them,  and  of  their 
old  men. 

"As  also,  that  they  have  been  in  the  night, 
being  one  hundred  miles  from  any  of  us,  in  the 
air  shot  at  and  stroken  by  some  men  of  ours, 
that  by  sickness  had  died  among  them. 

"And  many  of  them  hold  opinion,  that  we  be 
dead  men  returned  into  the  world  again,  and 
that  we  do  not  remain  dead  but  for  a  certain 
time,  and  that  then  we  return  again.  "^ 

Smith  gives  us  an  account  of  an  0-kee  being 
carried  by  the  Indians  into  battle.  The  god, 
made  of  skins,  stuffed  with  moss,  painted  and 
hung  with  chains  and  copper,  was  borne  before 
the  warriors,  who  followed  in  a  square  order.  The 
Indians  charged  the  English.  At  the  first  volley 
from  the  muskets  the  idol  fell  to  the  ground,  Its 
bearers  falling  dead  or  wounded  around  it.  The 
rest  fled.  Soon  a  priest  came  forward  to  offer 
peace  and  redeem  the  0-kee.  Terms  being 
offered  which  were  satisfactory,  the  0-kee  was 
restored.  ^ 

Beverley  gives  us  this  account  of  a  visit  to 
one  of  the  0-kee's  temples: 

"I  have  been  at  several  of  the  Indian  towns 

*  Lane's  account  in  Hakluyt's  Voyages. 
'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  156. 


244  The  Forest  Primeval 

and  conversed  with  some  of  the  most  sensible  of 
them  in  that  country;  but  I  could  learn  little 
from  them,  it  being  reckoned  sacrilege  to  divulge 
the  principles  of  their  rehgion.  However,  the 
following  adventure  discovered  something  of  it. 
As  I  was  ranging  the  woods,  with  some  other 
friends,  we  fell  upon  their  qui-oc-co-san  (which 
is  their  house  of  religious  worship)  at  a  time, 
when  the  whole  town  was  gathered  together  in 
another  place,  to  consult  about  the  bounds  of  the 
land  given  them  by  the  English.  ' 

"Thus  finding  ourselves  masters  of  so  fair  an 
opportunity  (because  we  knew  the  Indians  were 
engaged)  we  resolved  to  make  use  of  it,  and  to 
examine  their  qui-oc-co-san,  the  inside  of  which 
they  never  suffer  any  Englishman  to  see;  and 
having  removed  about  fourteen  logs  from  the 
door,  with  which  it  was  barricadoed,  we  went  in, 
and  at  first  found  nothing  but  naked  walls,  and  a 
fireplace  in  the  middle.  This  house  was  about 
eighteen  feet  wide,  and  thirty  feet  long,  built 
after  the  manner  of  their  other  cabins,  but  larger, 
with  a  hole  in  the  middle  of  the  roof  to  vent  the 
smoke,  the  door  being  at  one  end.  Round  about 
the  house  at  some  distance  from  it,  were  set  up 
posts  with  faces  carved  on  them,  and  painted. 
We  did  not  observe  any  window  or  passage  for 
the  light,  except  the  door,  and  the  vent  of  the 
chimney. 

'  As  a  part  of  the  treaties  made  with  the  native  tribes,  tracts  of 
land  were  assigned  them,  to  be  held  as  tribal  property,  and  not 
subject  to  be  patented  or  otherwise  acquired  by  the  white  people. 


Religion  245 

"At  last,  we  observed  that  at  the  farther 
end,  about  ten  feet  of  the  room  was  cut  off  by  a 
partition  of  very  close  mats;  and  it  was  dismal 
dark  behind  that  partition.  We  were  at  first 
scrupulous^  to  enter  this  obscure  place,  but  at 
last  we  ventured,  and  groping  about,  we  felt 
some  posts  in  the  middle;  then  reaching  our 
hands  up  those  posts,  we  found  large  shelves,  and 
upon  these  shelves  three  mats,  each  of  which  was 
rolled  up,  and  sewed  fast.  These  we  handed 
down  to  the  light,  and  to  save  time  in  unlacing 
the  seams,  we  made  use  of  a  knife,  and  ripped 
them,  v^/'ithout  doing  any  damage  to  the  mats. 
In  one  of  these  we  found  some  vast  bones,  which 
we  judged  to  be  the  bones  of  men,  particularly 
we  measured  one  thigh  bone,  and  found  it  two 
feet,  nine  inches  long.  In  another  mat,  we  found 
some  Indian  tomahawks  finely  graved,  and 
painted.  These  resembled  the  wooden  faul- 
chion'  used  by  the  prize-fighters  in  England, 
except  that  they  have  no  guard  to  save^  the 
fingers.  They  were  made  of  a  rough  heavy 
wood,  and  the  shape  of  them  is  represented  in 
the  Tab.  10,  No.  3.^ 

"Among  these  tomahawks  was  the  largest 
that  ever  I  saw:  there  was  fastened  to  it  a  wild 
turkey's  beard  painted  red,  and  two  of  the  longest 
feathers  of  his  wings  hung  dangling  at  it,  by  a 
string  of  about  six  inches  long,  tied  to  the  end 
of  the  tomahawk.     In  the  third  mat  there  was 

^  Afraid.  *  A  short  broad  sword  curving  sharply  to  the  point 

J  Protect.  *  This  is  the  picture  on  page  74. 


246  The  Forest  Primeval 

something,  which  we  took  to  be  their  idol, 
though  of  an  underhng'  sort,  and  wanted  putting 
together.  The  pieces  were  these,  first  a  board 
three  feet  and  a  half  long,  with  one  indenture 
at  the  upper  end,  like  a  fork  to  fasten  the  head 
upon,  from  thence  half  way  down,  were  half 
hoops  nailed  to  the  edges  of  the  board,  at  about 
four  inches  distance,  which  were  bowed  out, 
to  represent  the  breast  and  belly;  on  the  lower 
half  was  another  board  of  half  the  length  of  the 
other,  fastened  to  it  by  joints  or  pieces  of  wood, 
which  being  set  on  each  side,  stood  out  about 
fourteen  inches  from  the  body,  and  half  as  high ; 
we  supposed  the  use  of  these  to  be  for  the  bowing 
out  of  the  knees,  when  the  image  was  set  up. 
There  were  packed  up  with  these  things,  red 
and  blue  pieces  of  cotton  cloath,  and  rolls  made 
up  for  arms,  thighs  and  legs,  bent  to  at  the  knees, 
as  is  represented  in  the  figure  of  their  idol,  which 
was  taken  by  an  exact  drawer^  in  the  country. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  see  one  of  these  images  at 
this  day,  because  the  Indians  are  extreme  shy  of 
exposing  them. 

''We  put  the  cloaths  upon  the  hoops  for  the 
body,  and  fastened  on  the  arms  and  legs,  to 
have  a  view  of  the  representation.  But  the 
head  and  rich  bracelets,  which  it  is  usually 
adorned  with,  were  not  there,  or  at  least  we  did 
not  find  them. 


'  Subordinate,  or  lesser  divinity. 

*John  White,  who  drew  the  pictures  for  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  in 
^585. 


Religion  247 

"We  had  not  leisure  to  make  a  very  narrow 
search,  for  having  spent  about  an  hour  in  this 
enquiry,  we  feared  the  business  of  the  Indians 
might  be  near  over  and  that  if  we  stayed  longer, 
we  might  be  caught  offering  an  affront  to  their 
superstition;  for  this  reason  we  wrapt  up  these 
holy  materials  in  their  several  mats  again,  and 
laid  them  on  the  shelf,  where  we  found  them. 

"This  Image  when  dressed  up,  might  look 
very  venerable'  in  that  dark  place;  where  'tis 
not  possible  to  see  it,  but  by  the  glimmering 
light  that  is  let  in  by  lifting  up  a  piece  of  the 
matting,  which  we  observed  to  be  conveniently 
hung  for  that  purpose;  for  when  the  light  of  the 
door  and  chimney  glance  in  several  directions, 
upon  the  image  through  that  little  passage,  it 
must  needs  make  a  strange  representation,  which 
those  poor  people  are  taught  to  worship  with  a 
devout  ignorance. 

"There  are  other  things  that  contribute  to- 
wards carrying  on  this  imposture;  first  the  chief 
conjurer  enters  within  the  partition  in  the  dark, 
and  may  undiscerned  move  the  image  as  he 
pleases:  secondly,  a  priest  of  authority  stands  in 
the  room  with  the  people,  to  keep  them  from 
being  too  inquisitive,  under  the  penalty  of  the 
Deity's  displeasure,  and  his  own  censure. 

"Their  Idol  bears  a  several  name  in  every 
nation,  as  0-kee,  Qui-6c-cos,  Ki-wa-sa.  They  do 
not  look  upon  it,  as  one  single  being,  but  reckon 
there  are  many  of  them  of  the  same  nature;  they 

'  Worthy  of  veneration  or  reverence. 


248  The  Forest  Primeval 

likewise  believe  that  there  are  tutelar  deities  in 
every  town. "  ' 

Percy  tells  us  that  they  worshiped  the  sun. 
He  says: 

"It  is  a  general  rule  of  these  people  when  they 
swear  by  their  god  which  is  the  sun,  no  Christian 
will  keep  their  oath  better  upon  this  promise. 
Their  people  have  a  great  reverence  to  the  sun, 
above  all  other  things  at  the  rising  and  setting 
of  the  same,  they  set  down  lifting  up  their  hands 
and  eyes  to  the  sun  making  a  round  circle  on  the 
ground  with  dried  tobacco,  then  they  began 
to  pray  making  many  devilish  gestures  with  a 
hellish  noise,  foaming  at  the  mouth,  staring  with 
their  eyes,  wagging  their  heads  and  hands  in  such 
a  fashion  and  deformity  as  it  was  monstrous  to 
behold. 

"In  the  morning  by  break  of  day,  before  they 
eat  or  drink  both  men,  women  and  children, 
that  be  above  ten  years  of  age  run  into  the  water, 
there  wash  themselves  a  good  while  till  the  sun 
riseth,  then  offer  sacrifice  to  it,  strewing  to- 
bacco on  the  water  or  land,  honoring  the  sun 
as  their  god,  likewise  they  do  at  the  setting 
sun."'' 

"We  have  observed  how  when  they  would 
affirm  any  thing  by  much  earnestness  and  truth, 
they  use  to  bind  it  by  a  kind  of  oath ;  either  by  the 
life  of  the  great  king,  or  by  pointing  up  to  the 
sun  and  clapping  the  right  hand  upon  the  heart, 

'  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  28-31. 
*  Purchas,  vol.  iv.,  p.  1690. 


Religion  249 

and  sometimes  they  have  been  understood  to 
swear  by  the  manes'  of  their  dead  father. " "" 

Strachey  says  that  they  worshiped  everything 
which  they  conceived  able  to  do  them  hurt  be- 
yond their  prevention.  Thus,  they  adored  the 
fire,  water,  lightning,  thunder,  the  cannon  of 
the  English,  and  their  horses,  etc.  But  he  says 
the  chief  object  of  their  worship  was  the  devil. 

Then  he  describes  the  whole  religious  system 
in  one  sentence: 

"In  every  territory  of  a  wer-6-ance  is  a  temple 
and  a  priest,  peradventure  two  or  three:  yet 
happy  doth  that  wer-6-ance  account  himself  who 
can  detain  with  him  a  qui-yough-qui-sock,  of  the 
best,  grave,  lucky,  well  instructed  in  their 
mysteries,  and  beloved  of  their  god :  and  such  a 
one  is  no  less  honored  than  was  Diana's  priest 
at  Ephesus,  for  whom  they  have  their  more 
private  temples,  with  oratories  and  chancels 
therein,  according  as  is  the  dignity  and  reverence 
of  the  qui-yough-qui-sock,  which  the  wer-6-ance 
will  be  at  charge  to  build  upon  purpose,  some- 
times twenty  feet  broad  and  a  hundred  in  length, 
fashioned  arbor-wise  after  their  building,  having 
commonly  the  door  opening  into  the  east,  and  at 
the  west  end  a  spence  or  chancel  from  the  body 
of  the  temple,  with  hollow  windings  and  pillars, 
whereon  stand  divers  black  images,  fashioned  to 
the  shoulders,  with  their  faces  looking  down  the 
church,  and  where  within  their  wer-6-ances,  upon 

*The  deified  spirit. 

*  Strachey,  Historic  oj  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  1 13. 


250  The  Forest  Primeval 

a  kind  of  bier  of  reeds,  lie  buried;  and  under 
them,  apart,  in  a  vault  low  in  the  ground  (as  a 
more  secret  thing)  veiled  with  a  mat,  sits  their 
0-ke-us,  an  image  ill-favoredly  carved,  all  black 
dressed,  with  chains  of  pearl,  the  presentment 
and  figure  of  that  god  (say  the  priests  unto  the 
laity,  and  who  religiously  believe  what  the  priests 
say)  which  doth  them  all  the  harm  they  suffer, 
be  it  in  their  bodies  or  goods,  within  doors  or 
abroad;  and  true  it  is  many  of  them  are  divers 
times  (especially  offenders)  shrewdly  scratched 
as  they  walk  alone  in  the  woods,  it  may  well  be 
by  the  subtle  spirit,  the  malicious  enemy  to  man- 
kind, whom,  therefore,  to  pacify,  and  work  to  do 
them  good  (at  least  no  harm)  the  priests  tell 
them  they  must  do  these  and  these  sacrifices 
unto  (them),  of  these  and  these  things,  and  thus 
and  thus  often,  by  which  means  not  only  their 
own  children,  but  strangers,  are  sometimes 
sacrificed  unto  him;  whilst  the  great  God  (the 
priests  tell  them)  who  governs  all  the  world, 
and  makes  the  sun  to  shine,  creating  the  moon 
and  stars  his  companions,  great  powers,  and 
which  dwell  with  him,  and  by  whose  virtues 
and  influences  the  under  earth  is  tempered,  and 
brings  forth  her  fruits  according  to  her  seasons, 
they  call  A-ho-ne;  the  good  and  peaceable  God 
requires  no  such  duties,  nor  needs  be  sacrificed 
unto,  for  he  intendeth  all  good  unto  them,  and 
will  do  no  harm,  only  the  displeased  0-ke-us, 
looking  into  all  men's  actions,  and  examining 
the  same  according  to  the  severe  scale  of  justice. 


Religion  251 

punisheth  them  with  sicknesses,  beats  them, 
and  strikes  their  ripe  corn  with  blastings,  storms, 
and  thunder-claps,  stirs  up  war,  and  makes  their 
women  false  unto  them. " ' 

Henry  Spelman,  who  lived  a  long  time  with  the 
Potomac  and  other  Indians,  gives  us  this  account 
of  some  of  their  religious  ideas  and  customs: 

"For  the  most  part  they  worship  the  Devil, 
which  the  conjurers,  who  are  their  priests,  can 
make  appear  unto  them  at  their  pleasure,^  yet 
nevertheless  in  every  country  they  have  a  sev- 
eral image  whom  they  call  their  god.  As  with 
the  great  Powhatan  he  hath  an  image  called 
Cak-e-res  which  most  commonly  standeth  at 
Yaugh-taw-noo-ne^  or  at  Or-o-pikes^  in  a  house 
for  that  purpose,  and  with  him  are  set  all  the 
king's  goods  and  presents  that  are  sent  him,  as 
the  corn.  But  the  beads  or  crown  and  bed  which 
the  King  of  England  sent  him  are  in  the  god's 
house  at  Or-o-pikes,  and  in  their  houses  are  all 
the  king's  ancestors  and  kindred  commonly 
buried.  In  the  Patomac's  country  they  have 
another  god  whom  they  call  Qui-o-quas-cacke, 
and  unto  their  images  they  offer  beads  and 
copper,  if  at  any  time  they  want  rain  or  have  too 
much,  and  though  they  observe  no  day  to  wor- 

'  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  pp.  82-3. 

*  Additional  evidence  of  the  firm  belief  in  the  power  of  the  Indian 
conjurers. 

3  This  place  is  difficult  to  locate,  not  being  on  the  map  of  the 
towns;  see  page  142. 

*  A  favorite  town  of  Powhatan's,  in  what  is  now  Hanover  County, 
usually  spelt  Or-a-pax. 


252  The  Forest  Primeval 

ship  their  god  but  upon  necessity,  yet  once  in 
the  year,  their  priests,  which  are  their  conjurers, 
with  the  men,  women  and  children  do  go  into  the 
woods,  where  their  priests  make  a  great  circle 
of  fire  in  the  which  after  many  observances  in 
other  conjurations  they  make  offer  of  two  or 
three  children  to  be  given  to  their  god  if  he  will 
appear  unto  them  and  show  his  mind  whom  he 
desires. 

"  Upon  which  offering  they  hear  a  noise  out  of 
the  circle  nominating  such  as  he  will  have,  whom 
presently  they  take,  binding  them  hand  and 
foot,  and  cast  them  into  the  circle  of  the  fire, 
for  be  it  the  king's  son  he  must  be  given  if  once 
named  by  their  god.  After  the  bodies  which  are 
offered  are  consumed  in  the  fire  and  their  cere- 
monies performed  the  men  depart  merrily,  the 
women  weeping."  ' 

The  Rev.  Alexander  Whittaker,  the  minister 
at  Henrico,  in  1613,  has  this  to  say  of  their  re- 
ligion: "They  acknowledge  that  there  is  a  great 
good  God,  but  know  him  not,  having  the  eyes  of 
their  understanding  as  yet  blinded;  wherefore 
they  serve  the  Devil  for  fear,  after  a  most  base 
manner,  sacrificing  sometimes,  as  I  have  heard, 
their  own  children  to  him.  I  have  sent  one 
image  of  their  god  to  the  council  in  England, 
which  is  painted  on  one  side  of  a  toadstool, 
much  like  unto  a  deformed  monster.  .  .  .  The 
service  of  their  god  is  answerable  to^  their  life,  be- 

'  Spelman's  Relation  of  Virginia,  pp.  25-7. 
'  In  conformity  with. 


Religion  253 

ing  performed  with  great  fear  and  attention,  and 
many  strange,  dumb  shews  used  in  the  same, 
stretching  forth  their  Umbs  and  straining  their 
body,  much  Uke  to  the  counterfeit  women  in 
England,  who  fancy  themselves  bewitched  or 
possessed  of  some  evil  spirit."' 

Paw-co-rances  in  general  were  mentioned  in 
the  preceding  chapter.  It  seems,  however,  that 
there  was  one  of  greater  prominence  and  impor- 
tance than  all  the  others.  This  is  thus  described 
by  Beverley: 

"They  had  an  altar-stone  called  Paw-co-rance, 
which,  according  to  the  account  of  it  given  by 
the  Indians,  was  a  solid  crystal  of  between  three 
or  four  cubic  feet,  upon  which  in  their  greatest 
solemnities,  they  used  to  sacrifice.  It  was  at 
Ut-ta-mus-sack,'  the  principal  temple  of  the 
country,  and  the  metropolitan  seat  of  the  priests. 
They  said  that  this  stone  was  so  clear  that  the 
grain  of  a  man's  skin  might  be  seen  through  it, 
and  so  heavy  that  when  they  removed  their  gods 
and  kings,  not  being  able  to  carry  it  away,  they 
buried  it  thereabouts.  But  the  place  has  never 
yet  been  discovered."^ 

"They  erect  altars  wherever  they  have  any 
remarkable  occasion;  and  because  their  principal 
devotion  consists  in  sacrifice,  they  have  a  pro- 
found respect  for  these  altars.  They  have  one 
particular  altar,   to  which,   for   some   mystical 

'Purchas,  vol.  iv.,  1771. 

^  The  Indian  town  in  Pamunkey,  as  it  was  called,  that  is  the  lower 
part  of  the  territory  between  the  Pamunkey  and  Alattapony  rivers. 
3  Beverley,  bk.  2,  pp.  lo-ii. 


254  The  Forest  Primeval 

reason,  many  of  their  nations  pay  an  extra- 
ordinary veneration;  of  this  sort  was  the  crystal 
cube  mentioned  above.  The  Indians  call  this 
by  the  name  of  Paw-co-rance,  from  whence 
proceeds  the  great  reverence  they  have  for  a 
small  bird  that  uses  the  woods,  and  in  their 
note  continually  sound  that  name.  The  bird 
flies  alone,  and  is  only  heard  in  the  twilight. 
They  say  this  is  the  soul  of  one  of  their  princes; 
and  on  that  score,  they  would  not  hurt  it  for  the 
world.  But  there  was  once  a  profane  Indian  in 
the  upper  parts  of  James  River,  who,  after 
abundance  of  fears  and  scruples  was  at  last 
bribed  to  kill  one  of  them  with  his  gun;  but  the 
Indians  say  he  paid  dear  for  his  presumption,  for 
in  a  few  days  after  he  was  taken  away,  and  never 
more  heard  of. 

"When  they  travel  by  any  of  these  altars, 
they  take  great  care  to  instruct  their  children 
and  young  people  in  the  particular  occasion  and 
time  of  their  erection,  and  recommend  the  re- 
spect which  they  ought  to  have  for  them;  so 
that  their  careful  observance  of  these  traditions, 
proves  as  good  a  memorial  of  such  antiquities, 
as  any  written  records;  especially  for  so  long  as 
the  same  people  continue  to  inhabit  in,  or  near 
the  same  place."' 

A  presentation  of  the  Indian  tradition  of 
creation  and  an  outline  of  their  religion  was 
obtained  from  Jop-as-sus,  the  king  of  the  Potomac 
Indians,  and  is  given  to  us  by  Strachey: 

•  Beverley,  bk.  3,  pp.  46-7. 


Religion  255 


*i3 


"The  last  year  1610,  about  Christmas,  when 
Captain  Argal,  was  there  trading  with  Jop-as-sus, 
the  great  king's  brother,  after  many  days  of  ac- 
quaintance with  him,  as  the  pinnace'  rode  before 
the  town  Match-o-pon-go,""  Jop-as-sus,  coming 
aboard  and  sitting,  the  weather  being  very  cold, 
by  the  fire,  upon  a  hearth  in  the  hold,  with  the 
Captain,  one  of  our  men  was  reading  a  Bible, 
to  which  the  Indian  gave  a  very  attentive  care, 
and  looked  with  a  very  wisht  eye  upon  him,  as 
if  he  desired  to  understand  what  he  read,  where- 
upon the  Captain  took  the  book,  and  turned  to 
the  picture  of  the  creation  of  the  world,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  book,  and  caused  a  boy,  one 
Spelman,  who  had  lived  a  whole  year  with  this 
Indian  king,  and  spoke  his  language,  to  show  it 
unto  him,  and  to  interpret  it  in  his  language, 
which  the  boy  did,  and  which  the  king  seemed  to 
like  well  of;  howbeit,  he  bade  the  boy  tell  the 
Captain  if  he  would  hear,  he  would  tell  him  the 
manner  of  their  beginning,  which  was  a  pretty 
fabulous  tale  indeed. 

"'We  have,  said  he,  five  gods  in  all;  our  chief 
god  appears  often  unto  us  in  the  likeness  of  a 
mighty  great  Hare:  the  other  four  have  no  visible 
shape,  but  are  indeed  the  four  winds  which  keep 
the  four  corners  of  the  earth,  and  then,  with  his 
hand,  he  seemed  to  quarter  out  the  situations  of 

'  A  small  vessel  rigged  as  a  schooner,  generally  with  two  masts, 
and  capable  of  being  propelled  by  oars. 

'  One  of  the  many  which  are  mentioned  which  cannot  be  located 
on  the  map.  A  town  of  this  name  was  on  the  ocean  side  of  North- 
ampton County.     But  this  town  must  have  been  on  the  Potomac. 


256  The  Forest  Primeval 

the  world.  Our  god,  who  takes  upon  him  this 
shape  of  a  Hare,  conceived  with  himself  how  to 
people  this  great  world,  and  with  what  kind  of 
creatures,  and  it  is  true  that  at  length  he  devised 
and  made  divers  men  and  women,  and  made  pro- 
vision for  them,  to  be  kept  up  yet  a  while  in  a 
great  bag.  Now  there  were  certain  spirits, 
which  he  described  to  be  like  great  giants,  which 
came  to  the  Hare's  dwelling-place,  being  towards 
the  rising  of  the  sun),  and  had  perseverance'  of 
the  men  and  women  which  he  had  put  into  that 
great  bag,  and  they  would  have  had  them  to  eat, 
but  the  Godly  Hare  reproved  those  cannibal 
spirits,  and  drove  them  away.' 

"Now  if  the  boy  had  asked  him  of  what  he 
made  those  men  and  women,  and  what  those 
spirits  more  particularly  had  been,  and  so  had 
proceeded  in  some  order,  they  should  have  made 
it  hang  together  the  better;  but  the  boy  was 
unwilling  to  question  him  so  many  things,  lest 
he  should  offend  him;  only  the  old  man  went  on, 
and  said  how  that  God-like  Hare  made  the  water, 
and  the  fish  therein,  and  the  land,  and  a  great 
deer,  which  should  feed  upon  the  land;  at  which 
assembled  the  other  four  gods,  envious  hereat, 
from  the  east,  the  west,  from  the  north  and  south, 
and  with  hunting  poles  killed  this  great  deer, 
dressed  him,  and,  after  they  had  feasted  with^ 
him,  departed  again,  east,  west,  north,  and  south; 
at  which  the  other  god,  in  despite  for  this  their 
malice  to  him,  took  all  the  hairs  of  the  slain  deer, 

'  A  following,  or  seeking  after,  per  sequor.  *  On. 


Religion  257 

and  spread  them  upon  the  earth,  with  many 
powerful  words  and  charms,  whereby  every  hair 
became  a  deer;  and  then  he  opened  the  great  bag, 
wherein  the  men  and  the  women  were,  and 
placed  them  upon  the  earth,  a  man  and  a  woman 
in  one  country,  and  a  man  and  a  woman  in 
another  country,  and  so  the  world  took  his'  first 
beginning  of  mankind. 

"The  captain  bade  the  boy  ask  him  what  he 
thought  became  of  them  after  their  death,  to 
which  he  answered  somewhat  like  as  is  expressed 
before  of  the  inhabitants  about  us,  how  that 
after  they  are  dead  here,  they  go  up  to  a  top  of  a 
high  tree,  and  there  they  espy  a  fair,  plain,  broad 
pathway,  on  both  sides  whereof  doth  grow  all 
manner  of  pleasant  fruits,  as  mulberries,  straw- 
berries, plums,  etc.  In  this  pleasant  path 
they  run  toward  the  rising  of  the  sun,  where  the 
Godly  Hare's  house  is,  and  in  the  midway  they 
come  to  a  house  where  a  woman  goddess  doth 
dwell,  who  hath  always  her  doors  open  for  hos- 
pitality, and  hath  at  all  times  ready  dressed 
green  us-kat-a-ho-men  and  po-ka-hich-ory,  (which 
is  green  corn  bruised  and  boiled,  and  walnuts 
beaten  small,  then  washed  from  the  shells  with 
a  quantity  of  water,  which  makes  a  kind  of  milk, 
and  which  they  esteem  an  extraordinary  dish), 
together  with  all  manner  of  pleasant  fruits,  in 
a  readiness  to  entertain  all  such  as  do  travel  to 
the  Great  Hare's  house:  and  when  they  are 
well  refreshed,  they  run  in  this  pleasant  path 

'Its. 


258  The  Forest  Primeval 

to  the  rising  of  the  sun,  where  they  find  their 
forefathers  hving  in  great  pleasure,  in  a  goodly 
field,  where  they  do  nothing  but  dance  and  sing, 
and  feed  on  delicious  fruits  with  that  Great 
Hare,  who  is  their  great  god ;  and  when  they  have 
lived  there  until  they  be  stark'  old  men,  they 
say  they  die  there  likewise  by  turns,  and  come 
into  the  world  again. 

"Concerning  further  of  the  religion  we  have 
not  yet  learned,  nor  indeed  shall  we  ever  know  all 
the  certainty  either  of  these  their  unhallowed 
mysteries,  or  of  their  further  orders  and  policies, 
until  we  can  make  surprise  of  some  of  their 
qui-yough-qui-socks.^ "  ^ 

Beverley  gives  us  this  further  insight  into  the 
religious  ideas  of  these  people: 

"Once  in  my  travels,  in  very  cold  weather,  I 
met  at  an  Englishman's  house  with  an  Indian 
of  whom  an  extraordinary  character  had  been 
given  me,  for  his  ingenuity  and  understanding. 
When  I  saw  he  had  no  other  Indian  with  him,  I 
thought  I  might  be  the  more  free;  and  therefore 
I  made  much  of  him,  seating  him  close  by  a  large 
fire,  and  giving  him  plenty  of  strong  cider,  which 
I  hoped  would  make  him  good  company,  and 
open-hearted. 

"After  I  found  him  well  warmed  (for  unless 
they  be  surprised  some  way  or  other,  they  will 
not  talk  freely  of  their  religion)  I  asked  him 
concerning  their  god,  and  what  their  notions  of 

•  Strong,  hale,  or  hearty.  '  Priests. 

J  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  pp.  98-1 00. 


Religion  259 

him  were?  He  freely  told  me,  they  believed 
God  was  universally  beneficent,  that  his  dwelling 
was  In  the  heavens  above,  and  that  the  influence 
of  his  goodness  reached  to  the  earth  beneath. 
That  he  was  incomprehensible  in  his  excellence, 
and  enjoyed  all  possible  felicity.  That  his  du- 
ration was  eternal,  his  perfection  boundless,  and 
that  he  possessed  everlasting  indolence  and  ease. 

''I  told  him,  I  had  heard  that  they  worshipped 
the  Devil,  and  asked  why  they  did  not  rather 
worship  God,  whom  they  had  so  high  an  opin- 
ion of,  and  who  would  give  them  all  good  things, 
and  protect  them  from  any  mischief  that  the 
Devil  could  do  them? 

"To  this  his  answer  was,  that,  'tis  true,  God  is 
the  giver  of  all  good  things,  but  they  flow  natur- 
ally and  promiscuously  from  him;  that  they  are 
showered  down  upon  all  men  indifferently  with- 
out distinction;  that  God  does  not  trouble  him- 
self with  the  impertinent  affairs  of  men,  nor  is 
concerned  at  what  they  do:  but  leaves  them  to 
make  the  most  of  their  free  will,  and  to  secure  as 
many  as  they  can,  of  the  good  things  that  flow 
from  him.  That  therefore  it  was  to  no  purpose, 
either  to  fear  or  worship  him:  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, if  they  did  not  pacify  the  evil  spirit 
and  make  him  propitious,  he  would  take  away, 
or  spoil  all  those  good  things  that  God  had  given, 
and  ruin  their  health,  their  peace  and  their 
plenty,  by  sending  war,  plague  and  famine  among 
them;  for,  said  he,  this  Evil  Spirit  is  always 
busying  himself  with  our  affairs,  and  frequently 


26o  The  Forest  Primeval 

visiting  us,  being  present  in  the  air,  in  the  thunder 
and  in  the  storms.  He  told  me  farther,  that  he 
expected  adoration  and  sacrifice  from  them,  on 
pain  of  his  displeasure;  and  that  therefore  they 
thought  it  convenient  to  make  their  court  to  him. 

"I  then  asked  him  concerning  the  image  which 
they  worship  in  their  qui-oc-ca-san ;  and  assured 
him  that  it  was  a  dead,  insensible  log,  equipt 
with  a  bundle  of  clouts,'  a  mere  helpless  thing 
made  by  men,  that  could  neither  hear,  see,  nor 
speak;  and  that  such  a  stupid  thing  could  no 
ways  hurt,  or  help  them. 

"To  this  he  answered  very  unwillingly,  and 
with  much  hesitation;  however,  he  at  last  de- 
livered himself  in  these  broken  and  imperfect 
sentences;  it  is  the  priests,  they  make  the  people 
believe — and — here  he  paused  a  little  and  then 
repeated  to  me,  that  it  was  the  priests — and 
then  gave  me  hopes  that  he  would  have  said 
something  more,  but  a  qualm  ^  crossed  his 
conscience,  and  hindered  him  from  making  any 
farther  confession. 

"The  priests  and  conjurers  have  a  great  sway 
in  every  nation.  Their  words  are  looked  upon 
as  oracles,  and  consequently  are  of  great  weight 
among  the  common  people.  They  perform 
their  adorations  and  conjurations,  in  the  general 
language  before  spoke  of,  ^  as  the  Catholics  of 
all  nations  do  their  Mass  in  the  Latin. 

'  Worthless  pieces  of  cloth.  *  Scruple. 

^  That  of  the  Oc-ca-nee-ches,  mentioned  in  Chapter  XIX.  of  this 
work. 


Religion  261 

"They  teach,  that  the  souls  of  men  survive 
their  bodies,  and  that  those  who  have  done  well 
here,  enjoy  most  transporting  pleasures  in  their 
Elizium  hereafter;  that  this  Elizium  is  stored 
with  the  highest  perfection  of  all  their  earthly 
pleasures;  namely  with  plenty  of  all  sorts  of 
game,  for  hunting,  fishing  and  fowling;  that  it  is 
blest  with  the  most  charming  women,  which 
enjoy  an  eternal  bloom,  and  have  an  universal 
desire  to  please.  That  it  is  delivered  from  ex- 
cesses of  cold  or  heat,  and  flourishes  with  an 
everlasting  spring.  But  that,  on  the  contrary, 
those  who  are  wicked,  and  live  scandalously 
here,  are  condemned  to  a  filthy,  stinking  lake 
after  death,  that  continually  burns  with  flames, 
that  never  extinguish;  where  they  are  persecuted 
and  tormented,  day  and  night,  with  furies  in  the 
shape  of  old  women."' 

Another  view  entertained  by  the  Indians  on 
this  subject  is  presented  to  us  by  Jones.  He 
says: 

"Upon  enquiry,  we  have  from  them  these 
their  notions  of  the  state  of  the  dead. 

"They  believe  that  they  go  to  Ma-hom-ny 
that  lives  beyond  the  sun,  if  they  have  not  been 
wicked,  nor  like  dogs  nor  wolves,  that  is,  not 
unchaste,  then  they  believe  that  Ma-hom-ny 
sends  them  to  a  plentiful  country  abounding 
with  fish,  flesh  and  fowls,  the  best  of  their  kind, 
and  easy  to  be  caught;  but  if  they  have  been 
naughty  then  he  sends  them  to  a  poor,  barren 

'  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  32-4. 


262  The  Forest  Primeval 

country,  where  be  many  wolves  and  bears,  with 
a  few  nimble  deer,  swift  fish  and  fowls,  difficult 
to  be  taken;  and  when  killed,  being  scarce  any- 
thing but  skin  and  bones. " ' 

"They  use  many  divinations  and  inchant- 
ments,  and  frequently  offer  burnt  sacrifice  to  the 
Evil  Spirit.  The  people  annually  present  their 
first  fruits  of  every  season  and  kind,  namely, 
of  birds,  beasts,  fish,  fruits,  plants,  roots,  and  of 
all  other  things,  which  they  esteem  either  of 
profit  or  pleasure  to  themselves.  They  repeat 
their  offerings  as  frequently  as  they  have  great 
successes  in  their  wars,  or  their  fishing,  fowling 
or  hunting."^ 

"The  first  deer  they  kill  after  they  are  in 
season,  they  lay  privately  on  the  head  of  a  tree 
near  the  place  where  they  killed  it,  and  they  say 
no  good  luck  Vv^ill  befall  them  that  year  if  they 
do  not  offer  the  first  of  everything. "  ^ 

Another  favorite  object  of  sacrifice  was  to- 
bacco, or  up-po-woc.     Hariot  tells  us  that: 

"This  up-po-woc  is  of  so  precious  estimation 
amongst  them,  that  they  think  their  gods  are 
marvelously  delighted  therewith:  whereupon 
sometime  they  make  hallowed  fires,  and  cast 
some  of  the  powder  therein  for  a  sacrifice: 
being  in  a  storm  upon  the  waters,  to  pacify  their 
gods,  they  cast  some  up  into  the  air  and  into  the 
water:  so  a  weir  for  fish  being  newly  set  up,  they 

'  Jones's  Present  State  of  Virginia,  p.  1 6. 

^  Beverley,  bk.  3,  p.  34. 

3  Glover's  Account  of  Virginia,  p.  24. 


Religion  263 

cast  some  therein  and  Into  the  air;  also  after  an 
escape  of  danger,  they  cast  some  Into  the  air 
likewise:  but  all  done  with  strange  gestures, 
stamping,  and  staring  up  Into  the  heavens,  utter- 
ing therewithal  and  chattering  strange  words  and 
noises."' 

"The  Indians  offer  sacrifice  almost  upon  every 
new  occasion;  as  when  they  travel  or  begin  a 
long  journey,  they  burn  tobacco  Instead  of  In- 
cense, to  the  sun,  to  bribe  him  to  send  them  fair 
weather,  and  a  prosperous  voyage.  When  they 
cross  any  great  water,  or  violent  fresh  or  torrent, 
they  thfow  tobacco,  puc-coon,^  peak,^  or  some 
other  valuable  thing,  that  they  happen  to  have 
about  them,  to  entreat  the  spirit  presiding  there 
to  grant  them  a  safe  passage.  It  Is  called  a 
fresh,'*  when  after  very  great  rains,  or  (as  we 
suppose)  after  a  great  thaw  of  the  snow  and  ice 
lying  upon  the  mountains,  to  the  northwest,  the 
water  descends.  In  such  abundance  Into  the 
rivers,  that  they  overflow  the  banks  which  bound 
their  streams  at  other  times. 

"Likewise  when  the  Indians  return  from  war, 
from  hunting,  from  great  journeys,  or  the  like, 
they  offer  some  proportion  of  their  spoils,  of 
their  chlefest  tobacco,  furs  and  paint,  as  also 
the  fat,  and  choice  bits  of  their  game. 

"I  never  could  learn  that  they  had  any  cer- 


'  Hakluyt,  vol.  ii.,  p.  339. 

'  The  root  from  which  a  red  dye  was  made,  the  bloodroot. 

3  Money  or  ornament  made  of  shells. 

<  Freshet. 


264  The  Forest  Primeval 

tain  time  or  set  days  for  their  solemnities:  but 
they  have  appointed  feasts  that  happen  accord- 
ing to  the  several  seasons.  They  solemnize  a 
day  for  the  plentiful  coming  of  their  wild  fowl, 
such  as  geese,  ducks,  teal,  etc.,  for  the  returns  of 
their  hunting  seasons,  and  for  the  ripening  of 
certain  fruits:  but  the  greatest  annual  feast  they 
have  Is  at  the  time  of  their  corn-gathering,  at 
which  they  revel  several  days  together.  To 
these  they  universally  contribute,  as  they  do  to 
the  gathering  in  the  corn.  On  this  occasion 
they  have  their  greatest  variety  of  pastimes,  and 
more  especially  of  their  war-dances,  and  heroic 
songs;  in  which  they  boast,  that  their  corn  being 
now  gathered,  they  have  store  enough  for  their 
women  and  children;  and  have  nothing  to  do  but 
to  go  to  war,  travel,  and  to  seek  out  for  new 
adventures."' 

"The  Indians  have  posts  fixed  round  their 
qui-oc-ca-san,  ^  which  have  men's  faces  carved 
upon  them,  and  are  painted.  They  are  like- 
wise set  up  round  some  of  their  other  celebrated 
places,  and  make  a  circle  for  them  to  dance 
about,  on  certain  solemn  occasions.  They  very 
often  set  up  pyramidical  stones  and  pillars,  which 
they  color  with  puc-coon,^  and  other  sorts  of 
paint,  and  which  they  adorn  with  peak,  roenoke,"* 
etc.  To  these  they  pay  all  outward  signs  of 
worship  and  devotion;  not  as  to  God,  but  as 
they  are  hieroglyphlcks  of  the  permanency  and 

•  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  42-3.  '  House  of  religious  worship. 

3  The  bloodroot.  ■*  A  kind  of  shell  money. 


Religion  265 

immutability  of  the  deity;  because  these,  both 
for  figure  and  substance,  are,  of  all  sublunary 
bodies,  the  least  subject  to  decay  or  change; 
they  also  for  the  same  reason  keep  baskets  of 
stones  in  their  cabins.  Upon  this  account  too, 
they  offer  sacrifice  to  running  streams,  which, 
by  the  perpetuity  of  their  motion,  typify  the 
eternity  of  God."' 

We  are  told  by  Beverley  that  there  was  near 
the  James  a  flat  rock  upon  which  there  was  a 
depression  resembling  a  gigantic  footprint.  This 
was  an  object  of  the  most  reverential  regard  by 
the  Indians,  who  believed  it  to  be  an  impression 
caused  by  the  footstep  of  a  god,  as  he  passed 
through  that  country.  ^ 

An  Indian  legend  is  preserved  in  connection 
with  a  little  sheet  of  water  on  the  Eastern  Shore 
of  Maryland,  about  a  mile  from  Betterton.  It 
is  this  water  from  which  the  town  of  Still  Pond 
gets  its  name. 

The  following  is  an  account  we  have  seen: 

"This  pond  is  so  called  because  there  has 
never  been  seen  a  ripple  upon  its  surface,  no 
matter  how  hard  the  wind  blows,  nor  has  its 
surface  ever  been  coated  with  ice.  With  the 
mercury  at  six  degrees  below  zero,  not  a  particle 
of  ice  has  been  seen. 

"Another  interesting  fact  about  this  body  of 
water  is  that,  although  only  about  twenty  feet 
across  in  any  direction  it  has  never  been  fath- 
omed. 

'  Beverley,  bk.  3,  p.  46.  'Ibid.,  p.  44. 


266  The  Forest  Primeval 

"Still  Pond,  one  of  the  mysteries  of  the 
Eastern  Shore,  was  an  object  of  veneration 
among  the  Indians  of  the  peninsula.  So  deep 
as  never  to  be  sounded,  they  beheved  its  waters 
ran  down  in  the  earth  to  supply  the  happy 
hunting  grounds  of  their  dead.  Long  before 
the  first  European  settler  had  set  foot  upon  the 
shore  of  the  Chesapeake,  the  Indians  from  all 
parts  of  the  peninsula,  once  a  year,  during  the 
full  moon  of  September,  assembled  by  the  side  of 
the  pond  to  worship  the  Man-i-tou  and  to  pray 
for  the  return  of  their  mighty  chief,  who  had, 
they  believed,  fallen  into  the  water  and  sunk 
from  their  sight. " 

According  to  the  beliefs  of  the  Cher-o-kees,  the 
Great  Spirit  of  Evil  had  his  throne  among  the 
peaks  and  precipices  of  Whiteside  Mountain,  one 
of  the  loftiest  in  the  Co-wee'  range,  near  its 
southern  terminus.  "There  in  a  moss-grown 
inclosure,  curved  by  nature  to  form  the  seg- 
ment of  a  circle,  and  walled  in  by  stupendous 
rocks  which  rise  to  a  perpendicular  height  of 
eighteen  hundred  feet,  he  held  his  court;  but, 
casting  aside  his  state,  he  occasionally  walked 
abroad  upon  the  earth,  and  then,  as  he  strode 
in  the  darkness  from  peak  to  peak,  leaving  upon 
the  bald  mountain  tops  the  print  of  his  awful 
footsteps,  he  spoke  to  the  Red  Man  in  the  storm 
and  in  the  thunder."'' 

'  This  range  of  mountains,  a  part  of  the  southern  extension  of  the 
Blue  Ridge,  is  in  the  extreme  western  part  of  North  CaroHna,  and 
forms  the  boundary  between  Swain  and  Macon,  and  Macon  and 
Jackson  counties.         ^  Kirke's  Rear  Guard  of  the  Revolution,  p.  i8. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

POWHATAN    AND    WINGINA 

AROUND  the  commanding  figure  of  Pow- 
hatan centers  the  greatest  interest,  as 
the  head  and  embodiment  of  the  Indian 
power  in  Virginia,  at  the  time  of  the  settlement. 
Strachey  gives  us  this  account  of  his  personal 
appearance: 

"He  is  a  goodly  old  man,  not  yet  shrinking, 
though  well  beaten  with  many  cold  and  stormy 
winters,  in  which  he  hath  been  patient  of  many 
necessities  and  attempts  of  fortune  to  make  his 
name  and  family  great.  He  is  supposed  to  be 
little  less  than  eighty  years  old,  I  dare  not  say 
how  much  more;  others  say  he  is  of  a  tall  stature 
and  clean  limbs,  of  a  sad  aspect,  round  fat 
visaged,  with  gray  hair,  but  plain  and  thin, 
hanging  upon  his  broad  shoulders;  some  few 
hairs  upon  his  chin,  and  so  on  his  upper  lip:  he 
hath  been  a  strong  and  able  savage,  sinewy,  and 
of  a  daring  spirit,  vigilant,  ambitious,  subtle  to 
enlarge  his  dominions."' 

We  are  told  that  he  was  born  on  the  north 
side  of  the  James  River,  then  known  by  the  name 

'  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  49. 
267 


268  The  Forest  Primeval 

of  the  Indian,  instead  of  the  EngHsh,  king,  just 
below  the  falls,  near  Richmond,  in  the  country 
inhabited  by  the  Powhatan  tribe  of  Indians. 

It  seems  that  he  did  not  naturally  belong  to 
the  Algonquin  race  of  Indians,  over  a  portion  of 
which  he  ruled.  We  have  this  interesting  state- 
ment presented  about  his  origin  by  Hamor,  who 
says,  ''Powhatan's  father  was  driven  from  the 
West  Indies  by  the  Spaniards."'  Beverley 
says,  "0-pe-chan-ca-nough  was  said  to  have  been 
a  prince  of  a  foreign  nation  and  came  to  Virginia 
a  great  way  from  the  southwest,  and  by  their 
[the  Indians']  account  we  suppose  him  to  have 
come  from  the  Spanish  Indians,  somewhere 
near  Mexico,  or  the  mines  of  St.  Barbe. "  Smith 
says,  "0-pe-chan-ca-nough  was  a  brother  of 
Powhatan,"  which  Beverley  doubts.^ 

How  his  father,  if  himself  a  newcomer,  be- 
came possessed  of  the  rulership  over  this 
country,  we  do  not  know,  but  from  him  Pow- 
hatan inherited  the  sovereign  power  over  the 
countries  of  Powhatan,  Ar-ro-ha-teck,  Appomat- 
tox, Pa-mun-key,  Yough-ta-mund,  and  Mat-ta- 
pam-i-ent.^ 

Under  Powhatan  were  some  thirty  or  forty 
chiefs  or  kings,  appointed  by  him,  who  had  the 
immediate  rule  over  separate  tribes  inhabiting 

'  Hamor's  Discourse,  p.  13. 

^  Beverley,  History  of  Virginia,  book  i,  p.  51.  This  view  is  held 
by  Wertenbaker  in  his  work,  Virginia  under  the  Stuarts,  p.  89.  He 
says  that  0-pe-chan-ca-nough  having  been  defeated  by  the  Spaniards 
marched  all  the  way  from  the  far  southwest,  and  united  his  people 
with  the  tribes  under  Powhatan.  -^  Stith,  53. 


Powhatan  and  Wingina  269 

definite  areas,  in  which  they  had  their  towns. 
These  tribal  territories  were  probably  about  the 
size  of  the  smallest  of  our  counties.  These 
chiefs  were  called  wer-6-ances. 

Strachey  says:  "The  word  wer-6-ance,  which 
we  call  and  conster'  for  a  king,  is  a  common 
word,  whereby  they  call  all  commanders  for 
they  have  but  few  words  in  their  language, 
and  but  few  occasions  to  use  any  officers  more 
than  one  commander,  which  commonly  they  call 
wer-6-ance.  "^ 

The  name  Powhatan  was  derived  from  the 
country  Powhatan,  wherein  he  was  born,  which 
is  below  the  falls.  "His  own  people  sometimes 
called  him  Ot-tan-i-ack,  sometimes  Mam-a-nat- 
o-wick,  which  signifies  'great  king';  but  his 
proper  right  name,  which  they  salute  him  with 
(himself  in  presence)  is  Wa-hun-sen-a-cawh.  "^ 

The  extent  of  Powhatan's  dominions  is  thus 
defined  by  Strachey: 

"The  greatness  and  bounds  of  whose  empire, 
by  reason  of  his  powerfulness  and  ambition  in 
his  youth,  hath  larger  limits  than  ever  had  any 
of  his  predecessors  in  former  times,  for  he  seems 
to  command  south  and  north  from  the  Man-go- 
a-ges  and  Chaw-o-noaks  bordering  upon  Ro- 
anoke, and  the  Old  Virginia,"^  to  Tock-wogh,  a 
town  palisadoed,  standing  at  the  north  end  of 
the    bay,^    in    forty    degrees    or    thereabouts^: 

'  Construe.  *  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  51. 

3  Ihid.,  p.  48.  *  The  Roanoke  Island  settlement. 

s  The  Chesapeake  Bay.  «  Of  north  latitude. 


270  The  Forest  Primeval 

southwest  to  An-o-eg,  whose  houses  are  built 
as  ours,"  ten  days  distant  from  us,  from  whence 
those  Wer-6-ances  sent  unto  him  of  their  com- 
modities; as  We-i-nock  a  servant,  in  whom 
Powhatan  reposed  much  trust,  would  tell  our 
elder  planters,  and  could  repeat  many  words  of 
their  language  he  had  learned  among  them  in  his 
employment  thither  for  his  king,  and  whence  he 
often  returned,  full  of  presents,  to  Powhatan; 
west  to  Mon-a-has-sa-nugh,  which  stands  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountains^;  nor-west  to  the  borders 
of  Mas-sa-wo-meck  and  Boc-oo-taw-won-ough, 
his  enemies;  nor-east  and  by  east  to  Ac-co-ha- 
nock,  Ac-cow-mack,  and  some  other  petty 
nations,  lying  on  the  east  side  of  our  bay.^ 

"But^  the  countries  Powhatan,  Ar-ro-ha-tock, 
Ap-pa-mat-uck,  Pa-mun-key,  Yough-ta-mund, 
and  Mat-ta-pam-i-ent,  which  are  said  to  come 
unto  him  by  inheritance,  all  the  rest  of  the  terri- 
tories before  named,  and  which  are  all  adjoining 
to  that  river  whereon  we  are  seated,^  they 
report  (as  is  likewise  before  remembered)  to 
have  been  either  by  force  subdued  unto  him,  or 
through  fear  yielded:  cruel  he  hath  been,  and 
quarrelous  as  well  with  his  own  wer-6-ances  for 
trifles,  and  that  to  strike  a  terror  and  awe  into 
them  of  his  power  and  condition,  as  also  with 

'  These  Indians  were  possibly  taught  to  build  such  houses  by- 
survivors  of  the  Roanoke  Island  settlement. 

>  The  Blue  Ridge. 

3  These  boundaries  make  Powhatan's  kingdom  surround  the 
Chesapeake  Bay,  and  include  the  land  on  the  west  as  far  as  the  Blue 
Ridge.  ■<  Except.  « The  James. 


Powhatan  and  Wingina  271 

his  neighbors  in  his  younger  days,  though  now 
dehghted  in  security  and  pleasure,  and  therefore 
stands  upon  reasonable  conditions  of  peace  with 
all  the  great  and  absolute  wer-6-ances  about 
him,  and  is  likewise  more  quietly  settled  amongst 
his  own."' 

As  to  his  place  of  residence  we  are  told: 
"He  hath  divers  seats  or  houses;  his  chief, 
when  we  came  into  the  country,  was  upon  Pa- 
mun-key  River,^  on  the  north  side  or  Pembrook^ 
side,  called  Wer-o-w6-co-m6-co,  which,  by  inter- 
pretation, signifies  kings'  house;  howbeit,  not 
liking  to  neighbor  so  near  us,  that  house  being 
within  some  fifteen  or  sixteen  miles  where  he  saw 
we  purposed  to  hold  ourselves,  and  from  whence, 
in  six  or  seven  hours,  we  were  able  to  visit  him, 
he  removed,  and  ever  since  hath  most  kept  at  a 
place  in  the  desert  called  Or-a-paks,'*  at  the  top 
of  the  river  Chick-a-ham-a-ni-a,  between  Yough- 
ta-mund  and  Powhatan. "  ^ 

We  know  several  members  of  his  family  circle. 
Of  his  own  generation,  we  find  that  he  had  four 
brothers,  0-pit-cha-pan,  afterwards  called  Toy- 
a-tan,  who  succeeded  him  in  the  chief  power, 
after  his   retirement,   and  who  was  lame   and 


'  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  pp.  48-50.  •  The  York. 

^  The  first  settlers  took  this  way  of  naming  the  sides  of  the  rivers. 
In  this  manner  the  north  side  of  the  James  was  called  Popham  side, 
in  honor  of  Chief  Justice  Popham,  and  the  south  side,  Salisbury  side, 
in  honor  of  the  Earl  of  Salisbury. 

^  The  site  of  this  town  would  be  in  Hanover  County. 

s  That  is,  between  the  Pamunkey  and  James  rivers.  Historie  of 
Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  49. 


2^2  The  Forest  Primeval 

decrepit, '  0-pe-chan-ca-nough  and  Ke-ca-tough, 
who  had  villages  upon  the  Pamunkey  River,  and 
Jop-as-sus,  King  of  the  Potomacs^ ;  and  two  sisters, 
who  had  two  daughters.^  Whether  0-pe-chan- 
ca-nough  were  really  a  brother  is  now  in  doubt. 
As  for  wives,  we  are  told  that  he  had  a  large 
number  of  them.  When  first  seen  by  the  Eng- 
lish, he  had  his  "girl  wives"  around  him.  We 
know  the  name  of  one  of  his  wives,  0-ho-lasc, 
who  was  regent  over  the  Tap-pa-han-nas,  during 
the  minority  of  her  son,  and  the  names  of  twelve 
other  of  his  favorite  wives  preserved  for  us  by 
Strachey,  who  derived  his  information  from  an 
Indian  named  Kemps.     They  were: 

Win-ga-us-ke; 
Ask-e-tois-ke ; 
Am-a-pot-ois-ke ; 
Ot-to-pom-tacks ; 
At-to-so-mis-ke ; 
Pon-nois-ke  ; 
Ap-po-mo-sis-cut ; 
Ap-pim-mois-ke; 
Or-tough-nois-ke ; 
0-wer-ough-wouth ; 
Ot-ter-mis-ke ; 
Mem-e-ough-quis-ke. 

As  for  children,  we  are  told  that  he  had,  living 
when  Strachey  wrote,  twenty  sons  and  ten 
daughters,  "besides  a  young  one  by  Win-gan-us- 

'  Stith's  History  of  Virginia,  p.  139. 

'  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  98. 

3  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  143,  208;  Stith,  pp.  154,  155. 


Powhatan  and  Wingina  273 

ke,  Ma-chumps,  his  sister,  and  a  great  darhng  of 
the  king's,  and  besides  young  Pocahontas,  a 
daughter  of  his,  using  sometime  to  our  fort  in 
times  past,  now  married  to  a  private  captain, 
called  Ko-co-um,  some  two  years  since. 

"As  he  is  weary  of  his  women,  he  bestoweth 
them  on  those  that  best  deserve  them  at  his 
hands."' 

Among  this  large  number  of  his  children,  we 
know  individually  of  these: 

Taux-Powhatan,  who  has  been  already  men- 
tioned as  the  ruler  over  the  Powhatan  Indians. 
His  name  and  position  would  indicate  that  he 
was  the  eldest  son. 

Po~chins,  who  has  been  already  mentioned,  as 
the  chief  of  the  Ke-cough-tans. 

Na-mon-tack,  a  son  who  was  carried  over  as  a 
little  boy  to  England,  and  presented  to  James  I. 
He  had  been  instructed  that  when  he  came  into 
the  presence  of  the  King,  he  should  not  take  off 
his  hat,  remaining  covered  on  account  of  his 
own  royal  descent.  ^ 

On  attempting  to  return  to  Virginia,  the 
vessel  he  was  in  was  wrecked  on  the  Bermudas. 
There  was  another  Indian  among  the  passengers. 
Ma-chumps.  While  the  shipwrecked  crew  were 
in  the  Bermudas,  we  are  told  that  "upon  some 
difference,  Ma-chumps  slew  Na-mon-tack;  and 
having  made  a  hole  to  bury  him,  because  it  was 
too  short,  he  cut  off  his  legs,  and  laid  them  by 

'  History  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  pp.  53-4. 
'  Brown's  Genesis  of  the  United  States,  p.  172. 
18 


274  The  Forest  Primeval 

him.  Neither  was  the  murder  ever  discovered, 
before  he  got  to  Virginia. "  ' 

Pocahontas,  which  means  "Bright  Stream 
between  two  Hills. "  She  is  described  in  glowing 
colors  by  Smith,  as  the  "Nonpareil"  of  her 
father's  country.  ^ 

Another  daughter,  possibly,  the  one  named 
Cle-o-pat-re,  whom  the  English  also  tried  to  cap- 
ture at  the  time  Pocahontas  was  taken,  and  whom 
they  wished  to  marry  to  some  Englishman. 

Ta-hah-coo-pe,  who,  as  an  infant,  was  ap- 
pointed by  his  father  chief  of  the  Tap-pa-han-nas, 
his  mother,  0-ho-lasc,  acting  as  regent  during  his 
minority. 

Nan-ta-quaus,  a  son  already  mentioned,  whom 
Captain  Smith  described  as  "the  most  manliest, 
comeliest,  boldest  spirit  he  ever  saw  in  a  salvage," 
and,  lastly, 

Mat-a-chan-na,  a  daughter,  who  was  the  wife 
of  Tom-a-com-a.^ 

One  of  Powhatan's  councilors,  this  son-in- 
law,  named  Ul-ta-mat-a-ma-kin,  and  often  called 
also  Tom-a-com-o,  went  over  to  England  with 
Dale,  and  was  a  frequent  guest  at  Master  Doctor 
Goldstone's  in  1616.  Here,  we  are  told,  that, 
in  order  no  doubt  to  entertain  his  host,  "he 
sang  and  danced  his  diabolical  measures  and 
discoursed  of  his  country  and  religion. "  ^  He 
is  represented  as  being  a  hardened  sinner. 

'  Stith's  History  of  Virginia,  p.  115.  '  True  Relation,  p.  73. 

3  Stith's  History  oj  Virginia,  p.  143. 
"Purchas,  vol.  iv.,  p.  1774. 


Powhatan  and  Wingina  275 

We  also  know  the  name  of  one  of  his  numerous 
brothers-in-law,  0-pa-chis-co,  he  who  is  spoken 
of  as  the  old  uncle  of  Pocahontas,  who  attended 
her  wedding.  We  infer  that  he  was  her  mother's 
brother,  as  his  name  is  not  given  among  the 
brothers  of  Powhatan. 

The  domestic  arrangements  of  the  royal  house- 
hold are  thus  described  by  Captain  Smith,  and 
give  us  some  idea  of  the  regular  arrangements 
which  existed  for  comfort  and  safety: 

"About  his  person  ordinarily  attendeth  a 
guard  of  forty  or  fifty  of  the  tallest  men  his 
country  doth  afford. 

"  Every  night  upon  the  four  quarters  of  his 
house  are  four  sentinels,  each  from  other  a  slight 
shoot,  and  at  every  half-hour  one  from  the  corps 
dii  guard  doth  hollow,  shaking  his  lips  with  his 
finger  between  them;  unto  whom  every  sentinel 
doth  answer  round  from  his  stand:  if  any  fail, 
they  presently  send  forth  an  officer  that  beateth 
him  extremely. 

"A  mile  from  Or-a-paks  in  a  thicket  of  wood, 
he  hath  a  house  in  which  he  keepeth  his  kind  of 
treasure,  as  skins,  copper,  pearls,  and  beads,  which 
he  storeth  up  against  the  time  of  his  death  and 
burial.  Here  also  is  his  store  of  red  paint  for 
ointment,  bows,  and  arrows,  targets  and  clubs. 
This  house  is  fifty  or  sixty  yards  in  length,  fre- 
quented only  by  priests.  At  the  four  corners  of 
this  house  stand  four  images  as  sentinels,  one  of 
a  dragon,  another  a  bear,  the  third  like  a  leopard, 
and  the  fourth  like  a  giant-like  man,  all  made 


276  The  Forest  Primeval 

evil-favouredly, '  according  to  their  best  work- 
manship. 

"He  hath  as  many  women  as  he  will,  whereof 
when  he  lieth  on  his  bed,  one  sitteth  at  his  head, 
and  another  at  his  feet,  but  when  he  sitteth,  one 
sitteth  on  his  right  hand  and  another  on  his 
left.  When  he  dineth  or  suppeth,  one  of  his 
women  before  and  after  meat  bringeth  him  water 
in  a  wooden  platter  to  wash  his  hands.  Another 
waiteth  with  a  bunch  of  feathers  to  wipe  them 
instead  of  a  towel,  and  the  feathers  when  he  hath 
wiped  are  dried  again. "  ^ 

In  describing  the  power  he  exercised  over  the 
subordinate  chiefs,  and  their  obedience  to,  and 
fear  of  him,  he  says: 

"They  all  know  their  several  lands,  and  habi- 
tations, and  limits,  to  fish,  foul,  or  hunt  in,  but 
they  hold  all  of  their  great  wer-6-ance  Powhatan, 
unto  whom  they  pay  tribute  of  skins,  beads, 
copper,  pearls,  deer,  turkeys,  wild  beasts,  and 
corn.  What  he  commandeth  they  dare  not  dis- 
obey in  the  least  thing.  It  is  strange  to  see 
with  what  great  fear  and  adoration  all  these 
people  do  obey  this  Powhatan,  for  at  his  feet 
they  present  whatsoever  he  commandeth,  and 
at  the  least  frown  of  his  brow,  their  greatest 
spirits  will  tremble  with  fear:  and  no  marvel, 
for  he  is  very  terrible  and  tyrannous  in  punish- 
ing such  as  offend  him.  For  example,  he  caused 
certain    malefactors    to    be    bound    hand    and 

'  With  forbidding  countenances. 
*  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  142-3. 


Powhatan  and  Wingina  2']^ 

foot,  then  having  of  many  fires  gathered  great 
store  of  burning  coals,  they  rake  these  coals 
round  in  the  form  of  a  cockpit,  and  in  the 
midst  they  cast  the  offenders  to  broil  to  death. 
Sometimes  he  causeth  the  heads  of  them  that 
offend  him  to  be  laid  upon  the  altar  or  sac- 
rificing stone,  and  one  with  clubs  beats  out  their 
brains. 

"When  he  would  punish  any  notorious  enemy 
or  trespasser,  he  causeth  him  to  be  tied  to  a  tree, 
and  with  mussel-shells  or  reeds  the  executioner 
cutteth  off  his  joints  one  after  another,  ever 
casting  what  is  cut  off  into  the  fire:  then  doth 
he  proceed  with  shells  and  reeds  to  case'  the 
skin  from  his  head  and  face;  after  which  they 
rip  up  his  belly,  tear  out  his  bowels,  and  so  burn 
him  with  the  tree  and  all.  Thus  themselves 
reported,  that  they  executed  an  Englishman,  one 
George  Cawson,  whom  the  women  enticed  up 
from  the  barge  unto  their  houses,  at  a  place 
called  Ap-po-cant."*  Howbeit,  his  ordinary  cor- 
rection is  to  have  an  offender,  whom  he  will 
only  punish  and  not  put  to  death,  to  be  beaten 
with  cudgels  as  the  Turks  do.  We  have  seen  a 
man  kneeling  on  his  knees,  and,  at  Powhatan's 
command,  two  men  have  beaten  him  on  the  bare 
skin  till  the  skin  has  been  all  bollen^  and  blistered 
and  all  on  a  goar  blood,  "^  and  till  he  hath  fallen 
senseless  in  a  swoon,  and  yet  never  cried,  com- 

'  Remove  the  case  or  skin. 

'  A  town  in  what  is  now  Hanover  County,  on  the  Chickahominy 
River. 

J  Swollen.  4  All  covered  with  gore  or  blood. 


278  The  Forest  Primeval 

plained,  nor  seemed  to  ask  pardon,  for  that  they 
seldom  do."  ' 

Strachey  maintained  that  the  proper  policy 
for  the  English  was  to  make  friends  and  allies 
of  the  enemies  of  Powhatan.  In  discussing  this 
he  says: 

"There  Is  no  man  among  themselves  so  savage, 
or  not  capable  of  so  much  sense,  but  that  he 
will  approve  our  cause,  when  he  shall  be  made  to 
understand  that  Powhatan  hath  slaughtered  so 
many  of  our  nation  without  offense  given,  and 
such  as  were  seated  far  from  him,  and  in  the 
territory  of  those  wer-6-ances  which  did  in  no  sort 
depend  on  him  or  acknowledge  him;  but  it  hath 
been  Powhatan's  great  care  to  keep  us,  by  all 
means,  from  the  acquaintance  of  those  nations 
that  border  and  confront  him,  for  besides  his 
knowledge  how  easily  and  willingly  his  enemies 
will  be  drawn  upon  him  by  the  least  counte- 
nance and  encouragement  from  us,  he  doth,  by 
keeping  us  from  trading  with  them,  monopolize 
all  the  copper  brought  into  Virginia  by  the  Eng- 
lish. 

"And  whereas  the  English  are  now  content 
to  receive  in  exchange  a  few  measures  of  corn 
for  a  great  deal  of  that  metal  (valuing  It  accord- 
ing to  the  extreme  price  it  bears  with  them,  not 
to  the  estimation  it  hath  with  us),  Powhatan 
doth  again  vent  some  small  quantity  thereof  to 
his  neighbor  nations  for  one  hundred  times  the 

'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  143-4;  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia, 
p.  52. 


Powhatan  and  Wingina  279 

value,  reserving,  notwithstanding,  for  himself  a 
plentiful  quantity  to  levy  men  withal  when  he 
shall  find  cause  to  use  them  against  us;  for  the  be- 
fore-remembered wer-6-ance  of  Pas-pa-hegh  did 
once  wage  fourteen  or  fifteen  wer-6-ances  to  assist 
him  in  the  attempt  upon  the  fort  of  Jamestown, 
for  one  copper  plate  promised  to  each  wer-6- 
ance."  ^ 

Speaking  of  the  country,  and  the  people  ruled 
by  Powhatan,  Smith  says:  "The  land  is  not 
populous,  for  the  men  be  few;  their  far  greater 
number  Is  of  women  and  children.  Within  60 
miles  of  James  Town,  there  are  about  some  5000 
people,  but  of  able  men  fit  for  their  wars  scarce 
1500.  To  nourish  so  many  together  they  have 
yet  no  means,  because  they  make  so  small  a 
benefit  of  their  land,  be  It  never  so  fertile.  Six 
or  seven  hundred  have  been  the  most  that  hath 
been  seen  together  when  they  gathered  them- 
selves to  have  surprised  m^e  at  Pa-mun-key, 
having  but  fifteen  to  withstand  the  worst  of 
their  fury.  "^ 

That  this  estimate  was  far  below  the  real  state 
of  the  case,  is  clear  from  the  account  given  by 
Glover,  who  says  that  at  the  first  coming  of  the 
English,  "divers  towns  had  two  or  three  thou- 
sand bowmen  in  them.  "^  Any  one  of  these  larger 
towns,  therefore,  contained  twice  as  many  war- 
riors as  Smith  allowed  for  all  of  them  put  together. 

'  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  pp.  103-4. 

»  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  129. 

3  Account  of  Virginia,  p.  22. 


28o  The  Forest  Primeval 

The  map  of  the  country  gives  the  names  and 
locations  of  over  one  hundred  of  these  Indian 
settlements.  One  conclusion,  therefore,  is,  that 
the  Indian  forces,  instead  of  one  thousand 
five  hundred,  numbered  many  thousands  of 
warriors. 

Such  were  the  surroundings  of  Powhatan. 
His  attitude  towards  the  English  would  naturally 
enough  be  that  of  bitter  hostility,  as  strangers 
and  intruders,  but  this  feeling  was  heightened 
by  a  prophecy  which  had  come  to  his  ears. 
Strachey  says: 

"It  is  not  long  since  that  his  priests  told  him 
how  that  from  the  Chesapeake  Bay  a  nation 
should  arise  which  should  dissolve  and  give  end 
to  his  empire,  for  which,  not  many  years  since 
(perplexed  with  this  devilish  oracle,  and  divers 
understanding  thereof),  according  to  the  ancient 
and  gentile  customs,  he  destroyed  and  put  to 
sword  all  such  who  might  lie  under  any  doubtful 
construction  of  the  said  prophecy,  as  all  the  in- 
habitants, the  wer-6-ance  and  his  subjects  of  that 
province,  and  so  remain  all  the  Ches-si-o-pe-ians 
at  this  day,  and  for  this  cause,  extinct. 

"Some  of  the  inhabitants,  again,  have  not 
spared  to  give  us  to  understand,  how  they  have 
a  second  prophecy  likewise  amongst  them,  that 
twice  they  should  give  overthrow  and  dishearten 
the  attempters,  and  such  strangers  as  should 
invade  their  territories  or  labor  to  settle  a  plan- 
tation  among  them,   but  the  third  time  they 


Powhatan  and  Wingina  281 

themselves  should  fall  into  their  subjection,  and 
under  their  conquest;  and  sure  in  the  observa- 
tion of  our  settlement,  and  the  manner  thereof 
hitherto,  we  may  well  suppose  that  this  their 
apprehension  may  fully  touch  at  us.  I  leave  to 
express  the  particulars  unto  another  place, 
albeit,  let  me  say  here,  strange  whispers  (indeed) 
and  secret  at  this  hour  run  among  these  people 
and  possess  them  with  amazement,  what  may 
be  the  issue  of  these  strange  preparations  landed 
in  their  coasts,  and  yearly  supplied  with  fresher 
troops. 

"  Every  news  and  blast  of  rumor  strikes 
them,  to  which  they  open  their  ears  wide,  and 
keep  their  eyes  waking,  with  good  espial  upon 
everything  that  stirs;  the  noise  of  our  drums,  of 
our  shrill  trumpets  and  great  ordinance,  terrifies 
them,  so  as  they  startle  at  the  report  of  them, 
how  far  soever  from  the  reach  of  danger.  Sus- 
picions have  bred  strange  fears  amongst  them, 
and  those  fears  create  as  strange  constructions, 
those  constructions,  therefore,  beget  strong 
watch  and  guard,  especially  about  their  great 
King,  who  thrusts  forth  trusty  scouts  and  care- 
ful sentinels,  as  before  mentioned,  which  reach 
even  from  his  own  court  down  almost  to  our 
palisado  gates,  which  answer  one  another  duly. 
Many  things  (whilst  they  observe  us)  are  suffered 
amiss  among  themselves,  who  were  wont  to  be 
so  servilly  fearful  to  trespass  against  their  cus- 
toms, as  it  was  a  chief  point  of  their  religion  not 
to  break  in  any,  and  all  this,  and  more  than  this. 


282  The  Forest  Primeval 

is  thus  with  them,  whilst  the  great  tyrant  himself 
nor  his  priests  are  now  confident  in  their  wonted 
courses."  ' 

It  Is  worthy  of  observation  that  this  prophecy 
of  the  Indian  priests  came  true.  The  first  at- 
tempt, under  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  failed.  The 
second  attempt,  under  the  King,  failed.  It  was 
the  third  attempt,  at  the  head  of  which  was 
Lord  De  la  Warr,  representing  the  Virginia  Com- 
pany, which  established  the  Colony,  and  over- 
threw the  Indian  power. 

The  country  just  to  the  south  of  Virginia,  where 
the  great  fact  of  the  permanent  settlement  was 
to  be  finally  worked  out,  was  the  scene  of  the 
first  attempts  to  plant  the  English  Protestant 
Colony  in  the  New  World. 

It  was  in  the  part  of  the  world  now  known  as 
North  Carolina,  but  then  Virginia,  where  the 
attempt  which  failed  took  place.  This  country 
was  presided  over  by  Win-gi-na,  who  bore  the 
same  relation  to  It  that  Powhatan  bore  to  the 
portion  of  the  continent  In  which  the  settlement 
was  ultimately  established. 

At  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  the  English  under 
Captains  Amadas  and  Barlow,  he  was  sick,  hav- 
ing been  severely  wounded  In  a  fight  with  the 
king  of  the  next  country. 

He  was  then  at  the  chief  town  of  the  country, 
about  six  miles  from  Roanoke  Island,  and  the 
first  voyagers  did  not  see  him  at  all. 

'  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  loi.. 


Powhatan  and  Winsfina  283 


t5' 


At  the  time  of  the  invasion  he  was  in  league 
with  two  other  kings,  Po-o-nens  and  Men-a-to- 
non,  against  their  mortal  enemies  Pin-ma-cum, 
king  of  Pom-ou-ik,  and  the  king  of  New-si-ok. 
Pom-ou-ik  seems  to  have  been  a  part  of,  if  not 
coincident  with,  the  territory  of  Se-co-tan,  that  is, 
the  land  between  the  Pamlico  and  Neuse  rivers, 
while  New-si-ok  lay  across  the  Neuse,  to  the 
west. 

One  of  his  brothers  was  Gran-ge-nim-e-o.  It 
was  this  brother  who  the  day  after  the  first 
contact  between  the  Roanoke  Island  settlers  and 
the  natives  took  place,  came  with  his  forty  at- 
tendants to  visit  the  English  in  their  shipG. 

Later  he  visited  them  again,  bringing  his  wife, 
daughter,  and  two  or  three  children.  His  wife 
was  always  accompanied  by  forty  or  fifty  other 
women. 

His  house  is  mentioned  as  containing  nine 
apartments,  and  built  of  cedar. 

Captain  Ralph  Lane  tells  us  that  Win-gi-na, 
upon  the  death  of  his  brother  Gran-ge-nim-e-o, 
took  the  name  of  Pem-is-a-pan.  Under  this 
name  he  is  generally  referred  to  in  the  account 
of  the  Roanoke  settlement. 

Like  0-pe-chan-ca-nough  he  planned  the  utter 
and  sudden  extermination  of  the  white  men,  and, 
like  him,  he  met  his  death  at  their  hands.  0-pe- 
chan-ca-nough's  two  plots  were  partly  carried 
out;  but,  Pem-is-a-pan's  was  nipped  in  the  bud, 
and  he  and  his  followers,  instead  of  Lane  and 
his  associates,  were  killed. 


284  The  Forest  Primeval 

Powhatan,  having  as  much  as  possible  kept 
himself  aloof  from  the  white  man,  died  a  natural 
death.  The  closing  scene  In  Pem-Is-a-pan's  his- 
tory Is  that  of  a  white  man  coming  out  of  the 
woods  with  the  head  of  the  Indian  king  in  his 
hand. 

Though  such  was  the  tragic  fate  of  Pem-is-a- 
pan,  his  successors  succeeded  In  repelling  the  in- 
vasion and  finally  exterminated  the  first  of  the 
English;  while  Powhatan's  kingdom  passed  under 
their  dominion. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

SOME    INDIAN    WORDS 

ONE  of  the  causes  to  which  is  attributed  the 
conquest  of  the  country  inhabited  by 
several  thousand  Indian  warriors  by  the 
white  settlers,  weak  and  divided  as  they  often 
were,  was  the  confusion  of  tongues  which  pre- 
vailed in  the  forest.  There  was  no  written 
language.  The  Indians  lacked  the  stability  and 
expansion  which  that  would  have  afforded  to 
any  leading  dialect.  The  tribes  spoke  their  own 
languages,  which  differed  widely,  so  widely,  it  is 
said,  that  often  those  of  one  village  could  not 
understand  the  inhabitants  of  another  living 
only  a  few  miles  away. 

This  was  a  serious  impediment  to  concerted 
action  to  unite  and  crush  the  invaders;  and  to 
it,  possibly  more  than  to  any  other  one  thing,  is 
due  the  fact  that  they  were  not  destroyed.  The 
Indians  were  divided  by  their  languages,  and 
divided  they  were  conquered. 

Beverley,  says,  however,  that  there  was  not 

entirely  wanting   a   means   of    communication 

between  them,  but  that  there  existed  a  sort  of 

general  language  understood  by  the  chief  men  of 

285 


286  The  Forest  Primeval 

many  nations,  as  Latin  was  formerly.  His  words 
are  as  follows: 

"These  Indians  have  no  sort  of  letters  to 
express  their  words  by,  but  when  they  would 
communicate  anything,  that  cannot  be  delivered 
by  message,  they  do  it  by  a  sort  of  hieroglyphic, 
or  representation  of  birds,  beasts,  or  other  things, 
showing  their  different  meaning,  by  the  various 
forms  described,  and  by  the  different  position  of 
the  figures. 

"Their  language  differs  very  much  as  anciently 
in  the  several  parts  of  Britain;  so  that  nations, 
at  a  moderate  distance,  do  not  understand  one 
another.  However,  they  have  a  sort  of  general 
language,  like  what  Lahontan  calls  the  Algonkine, 
which  is  understood  by  the  chief  men  of  many 
nations,  as  Latin  is  in  most  parts  of  Europe  and 
Lingua  Franca'  quite  through  the  Levant. 

"The  general  language  here  used  is  said  to  be 
that  of  the  Oc-ca-nee-ches,  though  they  have 
been  but  a  small  nation,  ever  since  those  parts 
were  known  to  the  English:  but  in  what  this 
language  may  differ  from  that  of  the  Algonkines, 
I  am  not  able  to  determine."^ 

In  considering  the  language  of  the  Indians  one 
is  apt  to  be  struck  by  the  length  of  their  words 
and  the  difficulty  of  pronouncing  them.  Un- 
broken into  syllables  many  are  practically 
unpronounceable.  Most  of  such  long  words 
as  were  contained  in  the  authorities  from  which 
the  list  herein  given  is  compiled,  are  omitted. 

'  French.  *  Beverley,  book  3,  pp.  23-4. 


Some  Indian  Words  287 

They  are  often  of  things  or  abstractions  of  less 
importance  and  interest  than  the  shorter  or 
easier  words,  representing  simpler  ideas.  But 
the  Indian  words  in  general  are  long.  Words 
of  one  syllable,  such  as  our  language  abounds  in, 
are  hardly  to  be  met  with.  As  the  accent  is  not 
marked,  the  correct  sounding  of  these  words  is 
of  course  uncertain,  at  best,  but  the  pronuncia- 
tion of  such  of  them  as  are  familiar  to  us  has 
been  the  guide  to  the  plan  which  has  been  adopted 
of  breaking  these  words  up  into  their  syllables, 
so  that  an  attempt  at  least  may  be  made  to 
pronounce   them. 

The  principal  authority  relied  upon  is  the  dic- 
tionary of  the  Indian  language  given  in  Strachey's 
Historie  of  Travaile  ijito  Virginia.  '^  We  have 
also  a  short  list  given  by  Smith,  ^  and  other  words 
have  been  gleaned  from  Beverley. 

Glover  also  speaks  of  this  diversity  of  language 
and  says:  *' Almost  every  town  differs  in  lan- 
guage, and  yet  not  any  of  their  languages  copious ; 
as  may  be  seen  by  their  frequent  expressing  their 
meaning  to  each  other  by  signs.  "^  That  is, 
that  even  those  who  spoke  the  same  dialect 
lacked  words  to  express  many  of  their  thoughts, 
and  had  to  make  themselves  understood  by 
signs,  there  being  no  words  in  their  language  to 
express  the  ideas. 

The  great  length  of  the  Indian  words,  belong- 
ing as  they  do  to  a  rude,  primitive  tongue,  is  in 

'  Beginning  at  p.  183.  '  Vol.  i.,  p.  147. 

5  Account  oj  Virginia,  p.  25. 


288  The  Forest  Primeval 

harmony  with  a  general  law  which  obtains  in  the 
development  of  languages.  Keightley  says  that : 
*'It  is  a  fact,  well  known  to  philologists,  that  the 
earlier  the  condition  of  a  language  is,  the  longer 
are  its  words  and  the  more  numerous  its  forma- 
tive syllables. "  ' 

As  there  is  no  Indian  literature,  the  knowledge 
of  these  words  cannot  be  put  to  any  practical 
use  in  reading  any  works  in  that  language;  and 
as  there  are  no  longer  Indians  or  any  one  else 
who  now  uses  this  language,  they  cannot  be 
made  use  of  in  speaking  to  any  one.  But  still 
they  have  an  interest  and  value  of  their  own,  as 
a  part  of  the  thought  and  life  of  a  race  of  human 
beings  who  once  lived  where  we  now  live,  and 
who  interpreted  the  scenes  around  them,  and 
the  things  of  life,  and  communicated  the  thoughts 
of  the  heart  by  the  use  of  the  words  which  are 
here  recorded. 

What  we  have  here  first  to  say,  let  us  call 

A   DAY    IN    AN    INDIAN    VILLAGE 

The  Indian  was  a  child  of  nature.  His  sur- 
roundings were  such  as  he  found  them  given  by 
the  Creator  unchanged  by  man.  His  life  was 
spent  under  the  broad  blue  canopy  of  Heaven, 
and  all  his  occupations  and  his  pleasures  were 
interwoven  with  the  forest,  vocal  with  the  song 
of  birds,  and  with  the  streams  reflecting  the 
bright  rays  of  the  sun,  and  teeming  with  all  its 

'  Mythology  of  Greece  and  Italy,  p.  15. 


Some  Indian  Words  289 

varied  forms  of  life.  For  all  these  things  the 
Indian  had  their  several  names. 

Let  us  imagine  an  Indian  leaving  his  house 
before  daybreak,  going  out  on  a  fishing 
expedition. 

Looking  upon  the  created  universe  around 
him,  the  object  upon  which  he  stood,  the  world 
itself,  he  called  pam-ah-saiv-uh. 

Above  his  head  stretching  out  into  infinity 
was  o-sies,  the  heavens. 

In  contrast  to  it  was  the  earth,  as-pam-u. 

As  he  journeys  toward  the  place  he  is  seeking, 
kes-haw-teuh,  the  light,  increases;  pap-a-souh, 
the  sunrise,  is  at  hand,  and  soon  above  the  water, 
sac-qua-han,  appears  the  glorious  orb  of  day,  to 
him  an  object  of  divine  worship,  kes-kow-ghe, 
the  sun,  shines  forth  in  dazzling  splendor. 

Across  the  waves  of  the  sea,  a-quas-kaw-wans, 
its  rays  are  reflected;  day,  raw-co-sough,  has 
dispelled  the  darkness  of  night,  tap-a-coh,  and 
the  objects  of  creation  stand  revealed. 

Before  him  is  the  sea,  i-a-pam.  Around  him 
is  the  air,  ra-ras-can.  Above  him  is  the  blue, 
o-sa-ih,  sky,  ar-ro-koth,  in  which  float  mam-ma- 
um,  the  clouds,  impelled  by  rowh-sun-much,  a 
gentle  wind.     Behind  him  is  the  forest,  mus-ses. 

At  his  feet  is  the  sand  of  the  shore,  ra-cauh, 
and  seis-cat-u-uh,  the  ebbing  water.  In  the 
sand  is  the  seaweed,  as-cax-as-qu-us. 

Toward  the  north,  ut-cheiks,  lies  an  island, 
mem-nun-nah-qus,  standing  out  clearly  in  the 
water,  suck-a-han-na. 


290  The  Forest  Primeval 

Toward  the  west,  at-tag-was-san-na,  the 
land,  chep-sin,  is  watered  by  a  river,  ye-o-kan-ta, 
into  which  flows  a  small  creek,  me-ih-sut-ter- 
ask. 

On  the  east,  ut-chep-wo-is-sum-a,  there  rises 
a  gentle  hill,  ro-mut-tun,  and  beyond  it  a  tall 
mountain,  pom-o-tawk. 

Winter,  pup-pa-an-noh,  with  its  ice,  o-re-ih, 
frost,  tac-qua-cat,  and  snow,  co-an,  has  passed. 
The  wild  geese,  the  co-honks,  and  the  swans, 
wo-pus-so-uc,  have  gone  to  their  distant  homes. 
The  season  of  the  year,  paw-pax-son-ghe,  is 
that  of  the  balmy  summer,  cow-wot-a-i-oh, 
which  will  soon  change  into  autumn,  pun-sa-os, 
the  falling  of  the  leaf.  It  is  hot  weather, 
u-nes-haw-o-can-as-sup. 

Here,  mis-ke,  is  a  running  brook,  wous-sick-it. 
Yonder,  yo-ax-u-uh,  is  a  place,  we-is-kis,  v\here 
the  ground,  pet-a-win,  is  covered  with  trees 
standing  in  water.  It  is  a  dreary  looking  place. 
It  is  a  po-co-sin. 

Making  his  way  to  near  the  mouth  of  the  small 
creek,  he  and  his  companion  proceed  with  the 
work  in  hand.  They  are  going  to  put  a  fishing 
weir,  ne-ih-sac-an,  across  the  creek,  to  catch 
nough-mass,  that  is,  any  kind  of  fish. 

He  is  supplied  with  his  a-quin-tain  taux,  that 
is,  a  little  boat  or  canoe;  a  tse-ma-o-say,  a 
sail;  his  net,  a-us-sab;  an  oar,  tshe-mac-aus ; 
re-kas-que,  a  knife;  pe-munt-naw,  a  rope; 
mowh-ko-han,  a  fish-hook;  por-a-sap,  a  bag; 
and  ok-tam-o-can,  a  can  to  drink  in. 


Some  Indian  Words  291 

While  he  is  waiting  the  appropriate  time  for 
the  current  of  the  stream  and  the  weir  to  do  their 
work  in  entrapping  the  fish,  a  butterfly,  man-a- 
aug-wos,  flits  by.  A  moc-ca-sin  puts  its  head 
out  of  the  water,  and  disappears.  A  crane, 
US-sac,  lights  upon  the  opposite  shore,  and 
stalks  around  with  its  long  legs.  With  discord- 
ant note  o-ha-was,  a  crow,  flies  across  the  stream 
frightening  a  wild  duck,  pis-co-end  which  was 
floating  upon  the  surface  of  the  water,  on  whom 
an  eagle,  o-pot-e-na-i-ok  had  fixed  his  deadly 
eye.  A  gull,  co-i-ah-guns,  floats  lazily  through 
the  air,  and  the  black  back  of  a  porpoise,  pot-a- 
waugh,  revolves  in  the  deeper  water  beyond. 
A  fly,  mow-ches-on,  buzzes  in  his  ear;  a  gnat, 
po-en-gu-uh,  stings  him;  and  a  lizard,  ut-a-cas- 
kis,  glides  across  his  path. 

When  the  weir  is  examined,  among  other 
captures  are  found  a  sturgeon,  cop-o-to-ne;  a 
turtle,  com-mo-tins ;  a  sea-turtle,  tuw-cup-pe-uk ; 
a  crab,  tut-tas-cuc;  an  eel,  as-cam-a-uk ;  a  gar- 
fish, ta-tam-a-ho ;  and  a  lobster,  ah-sha-ham, 
and  a  number  of  fish,  nam-ma-is,  with  their 
sharp  fins,  wi-ih-cats. 

Returning,  pey-e-ugh,  to  the  shore,  the  good, 
win-gan,  were  taken,  the  rest  thrown  away. 

Wet,  nep-pe,  but  not  weary,  cut-tox-een,  the 
Indian  now  puts  his  fish  in  a  basket  upon  his 
back,  and  carries  it  home. 

On  the  way  to  the  town,  mus-sa-ran,  where 
he  lives,  he  met  another  friend,  ne-tab,  and 
the  three,  nuss,  proceed   together,  one,  ne-cut, 


292  The  Forest  Primeval 

before,  ut-cha-rund,  the  other,  according  to 
their  fashion  of  walking. 

On  their  way,  they  meet  a  hare,  wi-ih-cut-teis, 
which  scampers  off  into  the  grass,  at-tass-kuss. 
A  squirrel,  mous-som-ko,  runs  up  the  rough 
bark  of  a  pine  tree,  a-noo-sa.  A  fine  deer,  ut- 
ta-pa-an-tam,  with  long,  cun-na-i-u-uh,  horns, 
wa-wi-rak,  and  a  little,  taux,  faun,  no-nat-te-uh, 
fled  upon  hearing,  aump-su-uk,  the  Indians 
coming. 

They  passed  a  village,  ka-a-sun,  also  on  their 
way,  and  noticed  a  circle,  mus-set-a-qua-i-oh, 
of  old  women,  u-tump-seis,  around  a  boy,  mar- 
o-wan-ches-so,  who  lay  there  dead,  tse-pa-ih 
of  a  snake-bite,  u-tag-wo-ong.  They  were  mak- 
ing preparations  for  his  burial,  pa-i-am-a-suw. 

Passing  on,  they  saw  a  great,  man-go-i-te, 
owl,  quang-at-a-rask,  in  the  top  of  a  walnut 
tree,  as-sun-no-in-e-ind-ge.  From  the  next, 
u-tak-i-ik,  tree,  me-ih-tucs,  a  hickory  of  consider- 
able height,  man-ge-ker,  a  flying  squirrel,  a-i- 
os-sa-pan-i-ik,  came  out  of  his  hole,  wo-or, 
flew  down,  lit  upon  the  dead  leaves,  mo-in-cam- 
in-ge,  and  disappeared  in  the  reeds,  nis-sa-kan. 

Arrived  at  length  at  home,  it  was  found  that 
all,  che-isk,  were  well.  These  were  the  old  man, 
raw-e-run-nu-uh,  his  father,  now-se ;  his  mother, 
kick-e-was;  his  wife,  no-un-gas-se ;  his  elder, 
nus-sa-andg,  brother,  ke-mot-te;  his  sister, 
cur-si-ne;  his  aunt,  ar-i-quos-sac,  and  her  hus- 
band, wi-o-wah;  his  younger,  we-saws,  daugh- 
ter, am-o-sens;  and  his  other  child,  nech-a-un, 


Some  Indian  Words  293 

who  was  a  little  boy,  us-ca-pess.  The  baby, 
pap-poose,  was  fat,  wir-a-o-hawk,  and  was  now 
strapped  to  a  board,  cut-sot-ah-wooc,  hanging 
from  the  branch  of  a  cedar  tree,  mo-ro-ke.  It 
was  not  awake,  au-mau-mer.  It  was  a  girl, 
us-qua-se-ins. 

His  father,  now-se,  a  strong,  to-wauh,  man 
yet,  was  busily  engaged  in  putting  his  arms  in 
order.  By  his  side  was  his  bow,  at-taup;  to 
which  he  had  just  fitted  a  new  bowstring,  au-peis. 
He  was  now  at  work  on  an  arrow,  at-tonce. 
Its  head,  rap-ut-tak,  and  feathers,  as-sa-cun- 
sauh  were  being  fastened  on  with  the  glue,  up- 
pe-in-sa-man,  used  for  this  purpose.  Leaning 
against  a  tree  were  his  sword,  mon-a-cooke,  his 
shield,  au-mough-hough,  and  his  hatchet,  tom-a- 
hack.  In  his  belt  was  his  knife,  dam-i-sac, 
which  could  give  a  dangerous  stab,  wap-in,  or 
cut,  wap-e-uh.  But  these  weapons  were  not 
equal  to  the  lead,  wind-scup,  from  the  gun, 
po-ko-sack,  of  the  English,  Tas-san-tas-ses, 
protected  in  their  coats  of  mail,  a-qua-hus-sun, 
even  though  their  arrows  were  sharp,  ken-e-i- 
wuh. 

His  brother,  ke-mot-te,  who  was  rather  weak, 
kes-she-manc,  was  engaged  in  fashioning  from 
some  leather,  ut-to-ca-is,  a  match-coat  for  the 
coming  winter. 

His  aunt's  husband,  who  was  lame,  nep-a-wir- 
o-nough,  was  very  bright,  mus-caus-sum,  and 
calm,  coh-quiv-uh.  He  was  engaged  in  making 
a  pair  of  shoes,  mock-a-sins. 


/ 


294  The  Forest  Primeval 

His  daughter,  am-o-sens,  was  a  fine  young 
woman,  cren-e-po,  very  much  ahve,  ke-kewh, 
and  greatly  admired  by  the  young  men  of  the 
town.  Her  maw-chick  cham-may,  that  is,  her 
best  of  friends,  was  a  young  wer-6-ance,  war 
chief,  who  had  lately  distinguished  himself  by 
killing  the  worst  of  the  enemies,  kas-ka-pow, 
of  the  tribe,  one  of  the  man-eaters,  mus-sa- 
an-ge-gwah. 

His  wife,  no-un-gas-se,  was  busily  occupied 
in  preparing  the  meal,  which  was  to  consist  of 
bread,  op-pones;  suc-co-tash,  corn  and  beans; 
hominy;  ra-pan-ta,  venison;  a  little  salt,  saw- 
wo-ne;  and  milk  made  of  walnuts,  po-co-hi- 
qua-ra. 

Other  usual  articles  of  food  were  pec-cat-o- 
as,  beans;  chickens,  ca-wah-che-ims ;  caviare 
or  the  roe  of  sturgeon,  wo-ock;  co-tun,  cheese; 
eggs,  o-waugh;  bread  made  either  of  flour, 
rouh-se-uh,  or  meal,  rouh-cat;  broth,  no-ump- 
qua-am;  cau-wa-ih,  oysters;  hasty  pudding, 
as-a-pan;  dewberries,  ac-coon-dews ;  grapes, 
mar-ra-kim-mins ;  and  strawberries,  mus-kef- 
kim-mins. 

There  had  formerly  lived  with  them  a  man 
nem-a-rough,  who  was  a  bachelor,  ma-taw-i-o- 
wijh,  straight,  ma-jauh,  as  an  arrow,  at-tonce, 
but  on  one  of  the  war-parties  he  was  lost,  now- 
wan-us. 

The  inside  of  the  house,  yo-hac-an,  was  rather 
dark,  pah-cun-na-i-oh,  as  it  seemed,  as  one 
entered    through  the  low,  ma-chess,  doorway. 


Some  Indian  Words  295 

But  the  light,  kes-kaw-teuh,  from  the  hole  in 
the  roof  enables  the  contents  to  be  seen.  Here 
then  appear  in  their  proper  places,  the  bed,  tus- 
san,  which  was  hard,  es-e-pan-nu-uh,  enough. 
On  the  ground  lies  a  mat,  a-nan-son.  There  is 
the  frying-pan,  amp-ko-ne;  a  dish,  o-ut-a-can; 
the  kettle,  au-cog-wins;  a  basket,  man-o-te; 
paw-pe-co-ne,  a  pipe;  an-ca-gwins,  a  pot;  ham- 
ko-ne,  a  ladle;  a  pot  to  drink  in,  ke-quas-son; 
a  mat  made  of  reeds,  a-nan-se-coon ;  linen,  ma- 
tas-sa-ih;  a  stool,  tau-o-sin;  and  oh-tam-o-can, 
a  barrel.     The  mat  was  torn,  tut-tas-cuh. 

In  the  middle  of  the  chamber,  ut-she-com- 
muc,  there  are  some  ashes,  pun-guy,  left  from 
the  last  fire,  po-kat-a-wer.  Dust,  ne-pen-sum, 
is  on  some  of  the  articles,  and  above  our  heads, 
cobwebs,  mut-tass-a-pec.  In  the  corner  was  a 
rat,  a-o-tauk. 

Outside  the  house,  by  the  well,  oh-ca-wooc,  is 
a  rose  bush,  pus-sa-quem-bun ;  some  wood, 
mus-keis ;  a  gate,  cup-pe-nauk,  opening  into  the 
vegetable  garden,  o-ron-o-cah. 

Scup-per-nong  grapes  were  here,  but  no  pear, 
as-sen-ta-men ;  nor  apple,  mar-a-cah;  the  wal- 
nut, as-sim-nim,  was  here;  and  o-pom-mins,  the 
chestnut;  musk-mu-ims,  the  mulberry;  and  per- 
sim-mons,  with  their  numerous  seeds,  a-men-a- 
ca-cac.  This  fruit  was  as  yet  unripe,  us-can-ne- 
uh,  and  no  bird  would  care  to  plunge  its  beak, 
meh-ke-uk,  in  it.  A  field  of  corn,  po-ket-a- 
wes,  which  the  English  often  called  wheat, 
and  West  Indians,  maize,  was  growing  here. 


296  The  Forest  Primeval 

The  meal  being  ended,  the  aunt's  husband, 
who  had  once  been  taken  over  to  England  in  a 
big  ship,  mus-so-wux-uc,  began  to  teach  the 
Indian  language  to  a  little  white,  o-paiv-uh,  boy, 
one  of  the  English,  who  had  been  exchanged  for 
one  of  the  Indian  king's  sons,  who  was  to  learn 
the  English  language.  The  first  part  of  the 
lesson  was  devoted  to  teaching  him  to  count: 
ne-cut,  one;  ningh,  two;  nuss,  three;  yough,  four; 
pa-rans-ke,  five;  com-o-tinck,  six;  top-pa-woss, 
seven;  nuss-wash,  eight;  kek-a-towgh,  nine; 
kas-ke-ke,  ten. 

After  this  the  count  was  by  tens,  but  the  words 
he  taught  were  so  long  and  barbarous  sounding 
that  we  dare  not  attempt  to  repeat  them. 

He,  yoG-wah,  learned  these,  youghs,  first  ten, 
quickly,  hus-que.  The  Indian  then  began  to 
teach  him  the  meaning  of  some  verbs.  By 
means  of  signs,  gestures,  action,  and  expression, 
and  such  other  means  as  were  available,  he 
tried  to  teach  the  little  Pale  Face,  that  pas-sah- 
i-ca-an  meant  to  clap  one's  hands. 

Catch-cah-mun  mu-she  meant  to  chop 
wood. 

Ah-coh-kin-ne-mun  meant  to  carry  upon  one's 
shoulders. 

Pa-tow  was  to  bring  again. 

Taw-a-tut-te-ner  meant  to  yawn  or  gap. 

Ne-igh-se-un  was  to  cry. 

Mo-undg  meant  to  cut  the  hair  of  a  man's 
head. 

Rick-e-uh,  to  divide  a  thing  in  half. 


Some  Indian  Words  297 

A-was-sew  meant  to  fly. 
Am-maw-skin  was  to  fall. 

Pa-atch-ah  meant  to  give. 
Quan-ta-mun  was  to  swallow. 

Paw-paw-me-ar  meant  to  walk. 
Pas-pe-ne  was  to  walk  about. 

Num-mawh  was  to  weep. 
Zanc-ko-ne  meant  to  sneeze. 

Cut-to-undg  meant  to  bark. 
Am-in  meant  to  bite. 

Toos-ke-an  meant  to  swim. 
Po-kin  was  to  dive  under  water. 

Tchij-ma-oc  meant  to  row. 
Ke-se-i-quan  meant  to  wash  the  face. 

Cus-purn  was  to  tie  or  make  fast  anything. 
Nep-o-mot-a-men  meant  to  shoot. 

Ke-kut-tun  was  to  say. 
Sak-a-ho-can  meant  to  write. 

No-ha-i-u-uh  meant  to  have. 
Com-mo-to-ouh  meant  to  steal. 

Me-cher  was  to  eat.  ' 
U-ne-kish-e-mu  meant  to  cut  anything. 

0-nas-can-da-men  meant  to  catch  in  the 
mouth,  as  dogs  do. 

Ah-cou-she  w^as  to  climb  a  tree. 

Ket-a-rowk-su-mah  meant  to  break  all  in     n/ 
pieces. 

Pe-rew  was  to  be  broken  or  cracked. 

0-tas-sap-nar  meant  to  call  one. 

'  This  is  close  to  our  word  munch,  a  word  which  is  similar  to  others 
with  the  same  meaning  in  a  number  of  languages,  for  example  Latin, 
manduco;  French,  manger;  Spanish,  mascar;  etc. 


298  The  Forest  Primeval 

Now-wun-ta-men  meant  to  hear. 
Kes-she-kis-sun  was  to  laugh. 

Tse-pa-an-ta-men  meant  to  kiss. 
Cant-e-cant-e  was  to  sing  or  dance. 

Ne-tus-pus  was  to  leap  as  men  leap  in  danc- 
ing or  otherwise. 

Hus-pis-sa-an  meant  to  leap. 

A-pows-saw  meant  to  roast. 
Niim-me-cax-ut-te-nax  wasto  fight  at  fisticuffs. 

Niim-mach-a  meant  to  go  home. 
Ma-ent-cha-tem-a-y-o-ac   was    the   word  to 
express  the  idea — gone. 

Mach-e-ne-caw-wun  was   to   lie   down   to 
sleep. 

Bah-tan-o-mun  meant  to  warm  one. 

Nep-a-um  was  to  sleep. 
U-na-mun  meant  to  awaken. 

Na-ha-puc  meant  to  dwell. 
Noun-gat  was  to  do. 

Mus-kem  was  to  run. 
I-reh  nieant  to  go. 

I-reh  as-su-min-ge  was  to  go  and  run 
quickly. 

Pe-in-tik-er  meant  to  come  in. 

Cau-mor-o-wath  meant  to  come,  being  spo- 
ken familiarly  or  hard  by. 

Pi-jah  meant  to  come,  being  spoken  afar  off  to 
one. 

Mas-ki-ha-an  was  to  be  melancholy. 
A-ro-um-mos-south  meant  to  be  sick. 

U-nan-na-tas-sun  meant  to  stand. 
Ud-a-pung-war-en  was  to  open  one's  eyes. 


Some  Indian  Words  299 

Naw-wi-o-wash-im  meant  to  carry  a  thing 
up  and  down. 

Ne-cus-sa-guns  meant  to  carry  a  thing  be- 
tween two. 

Ah-gu-ur  meant  to  cover  one. 
Waw-a-pun-nah  meant  to  hang  one. 

Cut-ta-quo-cum  meant  to  pull  one  down. 
U-un-a-mum  was  to  see. 

Mon-as-cun-ne-mu  meant  to  cleanse  the 
ground  and  make  it  fit  for  seed. 
Nut-tas-pin  meant  to  sow  wheat. 

Fair  progress  having  been  made  in  this  lesson, 
the  man  then  took  the  boy  through  the  town  to 
see  the  people  and  further  explain  his  language. 

Close  at  hand,  near  enough  to  have  heard 
them,  sitting  upon  a  stone,  scha-quo-ho-can,  was 
a  short,  tack-qua-i-sun,  bald,  pa-atch-kis-caw, 
deaf,  cup-po-taw,  beggar,  cut-tas-sam-a-is.  He 
was  nearly  naked,  ne-pow-wer;  a  stranger,  ut- 
tas-san-tas-so-wa-ih ;  without  friends,  ne-top- 
pew;  and  alone,  a-pop-a-quat-e-cus. 

It  was  decided  to  give,  pa-atch-ah,  him,  some- 
thing to  eat,  me-cher,  so  maize,  corn;  bread  made 
of  the  hot-tasting  root  tuck-a-hoe ;  a  lot  of  chin- 
ka-pins;  and  me-tucs-mar-a-kim-mins,  a  bunch 
of  grapes,  were  given  to  him. 

The  town  was  surrounded  by  a  palisade.  Inside 
of  which  were  about  twenty  houses,  the  houses 
being  scattered  about  Irregularly,  following 
roughly  the  circle  of  the  palisade,  and  leaving 


300  The  Forest  Primeval 

an  open  space  in  the  midst.  In  the  center  of 
this  was  now  to  take  place  a  show,  mach-e-que-o. 

One  of  the  enemies,  mar-ra-pough,  of  the 
tribe  had  been  captured,  and  now  all  friends, 
chesk-cham-ay,  of  the  tribe  had  been  sum- 
moned to  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him 
tortured.  A  fire,  po-kat-a-wer,  was  burning. 
The  captive  was  stripped  naked,  ne-paw-wer, 
and  ordered  to  sit  down  near  the  fire,  and  the 
Indians  beat  him  with  their  fists  and  sticks.  A 
post  about  fifteen  feet  high  had  been  set  firmly 
in  the  ground,  and  piles  of  hickory  poles  lay 
a  few  yards  from  it.  The  captive's  hands, 
metm-ge,  were  tied  behind  his  back. 

A  rope,  pe-munt-naw,  was  produced,  one  end 
was  tied  to  the  post,  and  the  other  to  the  cord, 
pem-a-nat-a-on,  which  fastened  his  wrists  to- 
gether. The  rope  was  long  enough  to  permit 
him  to  walk  around  the  stake  several  times  and 
then  return.  They  then  cut  off  his  ears,  me-taw- 
ke,  and  the  blood,  saw-we-ho-ne,  streamed  down 
each  side  of  his  face,  us-ca-en-tur.  The  warriors 
then  shot  charges  of  powder  into  his  naked  body, 
commencing  with  the  calves  of  his  leg,  mes-kott, 
and  continuing  to  his  neck,  nus-quo-ik.  Three 
or  four,  by  turns,  would  take  up  one  of  the  burn- 
ing pieces  of  wood,  and  apply  the  burning  end 
to  his  body.  These  tormentors  presented  them- 
selves on  every  side  of  him,  so  that  whichever 
way  he  ran  around  the  post  they  met  him  with 
the  burning  brands.  Some  of  the  squaws  took 
broad   pieces  of  bark,   upon  which  they  could 


Some  Indian  Words  301 

carry  a  quantity  of  coals  of  fire,  mah-ca-to-is, 
and  threw  them  on  him,  so  that  in  a  short  time 
his  feet,  mes-setts,  had  nothing  but  coals  of  fire 
and  hot  ashes  to  walk  upon. 

This  ordeal  had  now  lasted  two  hours;  the 
prisoner  was  much  exhausted,  and  his  nerves  had 
lost  much  of  their  sensibility.  He  no  longer 
shrank  from  the  firebrands  with  which  his  tor- 
mentors incessantly  touched  him.  At  length 
he  sank,  fainting,  upon  his  face.  Instantly  an 
Indian  sprang  upon  his  back,  knelt  lightly  upon 
one  knee,  made  a  circular  incision  with  his  knife, 
re-kas-que,  upon  the  crown  of  his  head,  men- 
da-buc-cah,  and  clapping  his  knife  between  his 
teeth,  me-pit,  taking  hold  of  the  hair,  mer-ersc, 
with  both  hands,  tore  off  the  scalp.  As  soon 
as  this  was  done,  an  old  woman,  u-tiunp-seis, 
approached  with  a  piece  of  bark  full  of  coals  of 
fire,  mah-cat-o-is,  and  poured  them  upon  the 
crown  of  his  head,  now  laid  bare  to  the  bone, 
wos-kan. 

The  wretched  victim  rose  once  more,  and 
slowly  walked  around  the  stake.  At  length 
nature  could  endure  no  more.  He  fell  for  the 
last  time  and  his  soul,  net-shet-sunk,  escaped 
from  his  tormentors.' 

Other  captives  were  then  produced.  The 
nails,  me-kon-se,  of  their  fingers  and  toes  were 
pulled   out.     Their   forefingers,   num-meis-sut- 

'This  account  is  taken  from  an  actual  case,  that  of  Col.  Wm. 
Crawford,  who  was  thus  put  to  death.  Peyton's  History  oj  Augusta 
County,  pp.  1 9 1-2. 


302  The  Forest  Primeval 

te-ing-wah,  were  cut  off.  The  tongue,  max-at-sno 
cut  out.  The  nose,  mes-kew,  sht.  The  Hps, 
nus-sha-ih,  cut  off.  The  thigh,  ap-o-me,  and 
the  arm,  me-se,  stuck  full  of  burning  pieces  of 
lightwood.  The  mouth,  met-to-ne,  filled  full 
of  hot  ashes.  The  elbows,  me-is-quan,  broken. 
The  forehead,  mus-kan,  torn  off.  The  beard, 
mes-se-ton-a-ance,  plucked  out.  The  veins, 
a-bes-cur,  opened.  The  skin  taken  off  the 
flesh,  wegh-shau-ghes.  The  throat,  ve-gwan- 
ta-ak,  cut  open,  and  the  eyes,  mus-kins,  gouged 
out  with  burning  sticks. 

The  gathering  which  had  witnessed  these 
scenes  included  the  sach-em,  the  magistrate, 
who  presided  over  the  great  councils  of  state, 
and  who  looked  after  the  aged,  and  the  women 
and  children;  a  "woman  queen,"  wir-o-naus- 
qua,  from  an  adjoining  tribe;  several  cock-a- 
rouses, members  of  the  King's  Council,  or  those 
otherwise  distinguished  for  bravery;  and  all  the 
cro-nock-o-es,  that  is,  men  of  prominence  in  the 
town.  The  mam-a-nat-o-wick,  the  Great  King, 
of  the  tribe  was  present,  and  a  ver-o-a-nee,  King 
or  great  man,  from  each  neighboring  tribe. 

After  these  proceedings  were  finished  they 
held  match-a-com-o-co,  that  is,  a  great  council  of 
state;  discussed  public  affairs,  and  smoked  the 
cal-u-met,  the  pipe  of  peace. 

As  an  appropriate  conclusion  to  the  festivities 
of  torturing  the  enemies  of  the  tribe,  a  dance, 
kan-to-kan,  was  gotten  up,  by  the  young  war- 
riors, while  the  bodies  of  the  victims  were  thrown 


Some  Indian  Words  303 

into  a  common  grave,  our-car,  where  they  slept 
their  last  sleep,  kaw-win. 

Passing  out  of  the  town,  to  get  a  better,  win- 
gut-sca-ho,  view  of  the  country  around,  they 
pass  over,  os-keitch,  a  stream,  tsa-quo-moi,  that 
is,  deep  to  the  middle  of  a  man.  A  little  farther 
down,  no-us-o-mon,  it  was  nut-tah-ca-am,  that 
is,  deep  over  the  head.  The  water  was  cold, 
nons-sa-mats,  and  the  stream  crooked,  o-ho-rin- 
ne.  In  it  were  swimming  an  otter,  cut-tack,  and 
a  beaver,  poh-kev-uh. 

Behind,  ta-an-go-quaijk,  the  town,  was  a  body 
of  woods,  full  of  leaves,  ma-an-qui-pac-us,  which 
tempted  them  to  enter  it.  Here  was  seen  the 
root  from  which  the  red  dye  of  the  Indians  was 
obtained,  the  puc-coon,  called  by  the  English, 
the  bloodroot,  and  the  mus-quas-pen,  another 
root,  ut-chap-poc,  from  which  a  dye  was  derived. 
By  the  marsh  at  the  edge  of  the  woods  was  the 
cranberry,  raw-co-mens,  growing  wild.  Here 
also  was  the  grass  from  which  they  made 
threads,  pem-me-now. 

In  the  wood  they  picked  up  the  acorns,  an-as 
ko-mens,  and  ate  them  raw,  as-cun-me-uh.  A 
large  vine,  wap-a-pam-mdge,  full  of  ripe,  win- 
gat-e-uh,  grapes,  spread  its  branches  abroad, 
us-cound.  Beneath,  ut-shem-a-ijn,  it,  there 
grew  a  great  deal,  moow-chick,  of  weeds,  at-tas- 
qu-us.  When,  ta-noo  chinck,  they  turned  from 
it,  they  saw  an  adder,  ke-ih-tas-co-oc,  curled 
up  under  it,  and  killed  it  with  a  cane,  nis-a-ke. 


304  The  Forest  Primeval 

The  bark  of  a  dog,  at-to-mois,  attracted  them. 
To  the  same  tree  he  had  tracked  two  curious 
looking  animals,  a  rac-coon  and  an  o-pos-sum. 
Other  animals  which  had  been  hunted  in  that 
wood  were  the  fox,  as-sim-o-est ;  the  bear,  mo- 
mon-sac-que-o,  and  the  wolf,  na-an-tam. 

A  robin  redbreast,  che-a-wan-ta,  a  pretty- 
bird,  tshe-hip,  left  its  nest,  wap-ches-a-o,  when 
they  appeared,  and,  with  interrupted  motion  of 
wing,  ut-to-can-nuc,  sought  safety  elsewhere. 
Here,  too,  were  seen  a  turkey  cock,  os-pan-no; 
a  turkey,  mon-y-naugh ;  a  wood  pigeon,  qua- 
no-ats;  a  pigeon,  tow-ac-quo-ins ;  and  a  parrot, 
mas-ko-whin-ge. 

The  season  being  well  advanced,  the  leaves 
of  the  gum  trees  have  turned  red,  purple,  our- 
cre-uh,  and  yellow,  ous-sa-wack. 

It  was  now  the  afternoon,  aun-she-cap-a,  and 
being  sufficiently  refreshed  with  this  communion 
with  nature,  they  reenter  the  town  and  notice 
a  great  many  things,  among  others,  the  clothing, 
match-co-res,  worn  by  those  they  see.  It  being 
warm  weather,  the  inhabitants  have  on  but 
little.  Here  come  two  fine  young  women  wear- 
ing only  aprons,  mat-a-heigh  ca-tom-mo-ik, 
before  and  behind.  Being  ladies  of  distinction, 
on  their  heads  are  coronets  of  peak;  and  around 
their  necks  were  necklaces  or  chains  formed  of 
long  links  of  copper,  which  ornament  they 
called  tap-o-an-tam-nais ;  but  they  had  no  use 
now  of  stockings,  caw-que-a-wans ;  garters,  kis- 
pur-ra-caut-a-pus ;    shoes,    mawh-ca-sins,    nor 


Some  Indian  Words  305 

gloves,  o-tein-gas.  They  were  on  their  way 
to  the  river,  to  see  the  men  fish. 

A  conjurer  comes  next  on  his  way  to  give  some 
young  men  medicine,  wis-oc-can,  for  the  husk-a- 
naw-ing  pen.  He  had  in  his  hand,  made  out  of  a 
gourd  full  of  small  stones,  a  rattle,  chmgaw-won- 
auk,  which  he  was  going  to  use  in  his  conjura- 
tions. Fastened  to  his  girdle,  pok-on-tats,  is 
his  tobacco-bag,  re-con-ack.  With  him  was  the 
priest,  dressed  in  a  cloak  of  feathers,  called  put- 
ta-wus.  He  was  on  his  way  to  the  0-kee's 
temple,  qui-oc-co-san,  and  allowed  the  Indian 
and  the  boy  to  join  him.  He  was  about  to  begin 
a  pau-waw-ing,  or  conjuration,  in  order  to  make 
it  rain  again  to-morrow,  ra-i-ab,  as  he  had  made 
it  do,  as  he  claimed,  yesterday,  o-sa-i-oh. 

The  names  and  designations  which  he  had 
for  the  Deity  were  numerous.  Ra-wot-ton-emd 
meant  God,  but  a  more  general  word  for  gods 
was  Mon-to-ac.  For  the  images  of  gods  in  the 
form  of  men,  he  used  the  word  Ke-was-Q-wok. 
One  of  such  images  alone  he  called  Ke-was. 
O-kee  was  another  name  for  a  god,  and  A-ho-ne 
still  another.  Petty  gods  and  their  affinities 
he  called  Qui-yough-co-soughs.  Qui-oc-cos  was 
the  idol  which  dwelt  in  the  temple  already  called 
qui-oc-co-san,  but  which  had  also  another 
name,  mach-i-co-muck.  Ma-hom-ny  was  the 
name  of  the  deity  who  lived  beyond  the  sun, 
and  who  decided  the  fate  of  men  after  death, 
and  sent  them  to  a  place  of  happiness  or 
misery. 


3o6  The  Forest  Primeval 

Ri-o-ko-sick  was  one  of  their  names  for  the 
Devil,  another  form  of  which  was  Ri-a-poke. 

Mo-un-sha-quat-u-uh  was  their  name  for 
Heaven,  while  Po-po-gus-so  was  that  for  the 
hole  in  the  remotest  west  where  the  souls  of  the 
evil  burnt  continually.  It  may  have  been  that 
the  red  glow  of  the  sunset  was  the  origin  of  this 
belief. 

The  priest  was  going  to  offer  a  prayer,  mau-no- 
mom-ma-on,  to  the  sun,  kes-kow-ghe,  before 
proceeding  to  sacrifice,  ut-tak-a-er. 

The  war  chief,  wer-6-ance,  accompanied  by 
several  followers,  passes  by.  Three  feathers, 
ah-pe-uk,  adorn  his  head.  He  has  just  called 
one  of  his  attendants,  a  married  man,  now-i-ow- 
i-ih  wi-o-wah,  a  fool,  win-tuc,  for  selling  a  chain, 
rar-e-naw;  a  copper  kettle,  au-cut-ga-quas-san ; 
a  coat,  mant-choor;  a  mortar,  tac-ca-hooc,  and 
pestle,  poc-o-ha-ac;  a  bodkin,  po-co-hack;  a 
comb,  rick-a-ho-ne ;  a  needle,  poc-o-ha-oc;  a 
block,  tac-ca-hooc,  and  a  spade,  aa-ix-ke-hak-e, 
most  of  which  he  had  gotten  from  the  English, 
for  only  ten  yards  of  peak. 

This  v/ord,  sometimes  spelled  peag,  was  the 
name  given  to  beads  made  from  the  ends  of 
shells,  rubbed  down  into  a  cylindrical  shape, 
polished  and  strung  into  belts  or  necklaces. 
These  were  valued  according  to  their  length 
and  the  perfection  of  their  workmanship,  and 
were  used  as  money  or  ornament.  One  of  the 
pictures  shows  a  man  with  a  coronet  of  peak 
upon    his    head.     Black    or    purple    peak    was 


Some  Indian  Words  307 

worth  twice  as  much,  length  for  length,  as  white 
peak. 

Wam-pum  was  the  special  name  given  to  this 
more  valuable,  dark  peak.  Its  full  designation 
was  wampum  peak. 

Roanoke  was  another  kind  of  money  made  of 
the  cockle  shell.     It  was  of  less  value  than  peak. 

Runtees  was  still  another  name  for  the  disks 
of  shells,  used  as  ornaments,  as  in  the  form  of 
necklaces,  etc. 

The  chief  could  not  bear  to  have  this  man, 
who  was  a  mariner,  or  seaman,  che-ik-sew,  sell 
his  goods  so  cheaply,  and  he  told  him  how  he  had 
had  to  give  a  whole  boat,  quin-tan,  load  of  maize, 
corn,  for  a  pickaxe,  tock-a-hack;  a  pair  of 
shears,  ac-cow-prets ;  a  ball,  a-i-towh,  made  of 
copper,  mat-tas-sin ;  a  bell,  mau-ca-quins,  made 
of  some  white  metal,  us-sa-was-sin ;  a  stool, 
tau-o-sin,  and  some  shining  brass,  os-a-was, 
which  a  great  ship,  a-quin-tay-ne  mang-goy, 
had  just  brought  in. 

Then  he  told  him  of  a  chest,  pac-us,  and  a 
bottle,  po-he-euh,  with  a  dram,  ah-quo-hooc, 
in  it,  which  he  had  gotten  from  another  ship 
mus-so-wux-uc,  in  exchange  for  some  pearl, 
ma-kat-e-weigh. 

Young  men  are  seen  at  various  amusements 
or  occupations,  and,  as  the  day  is  now  well 
advanced,  the  women  come  in  from  gathering 
the  corn  and  other  fruits  of  the  soil  which  they 
have  tilled  and  cared  for,  to  prepare  the  evening 
meal. 


3o8  The  Forest  Primeval 

The  day  has  been  not  only  hot,  but  sultry, 
and  a  great  wind,  mah-qua-ih,  now  comes  up. 
In  the  west,  piles  of  black  clouds  tower  up  in 
the  sky,  and  advance,  threatening  and  terrible. 
The  Indians  believe  that  this  is  a  sign  that  the 
Deity  is  offended.  They  have  done  wrong  in 
torturing  and  killing  those  prisoners.  The  Sun 
is  obscured  by  the  thick  clouds.  The  priest  and 
the  conjurer  offer  sacrifice  to  it.  The  tobacco 
thrown  into  the  air  is  strewn  over  the  land  by 
the  hurricane,  toh-tum-mo-cun-num,  which  is 
now  sweeping  over  them.  The  rain,  cam-zo-wan, 
falls  in  torrents.  A  flash  of  lightning,  ke-cut- 
tan-no-was,  shatters  a  giant  oak,  po-aw-a-mingd 
which  falls  to  the  ground  with  a  crash,  pe-nim, 
while  the  thunder,  pet-tack-queth,  shakes  the 
world.     Righ-com-ou-ghe,  Death,  is  in  the  air. 

At  last  the  wind,  ras-so-um,  subsides.  A 
beautiful,  mus-ca-i-u-uh,  rainbow,  quan-na-cut, 
shines  forth  against  the  black,  ma-cat-a-wa-i- 
u-uh,  clouds.  The  Deity  is  propitiated,  and 
the  storm  is  over. 

Sunset,  qu-un~se-uh,  was  now  at  hand.  In 
the  western  horizon  hangs  the  moon,  ne-paw- 
wesh-ough,  which  was  now  a  new  moon,  suc- 
kim-ma. 

Smoke,  kek-e-pem-quah,  rises  in  the  air  from 
many  open  fires,  the  last  meal  of  the  day  is 
being  prepared,  so  our  observers  go  back  to  their 
house,  a  spark  of  fire,  ac-ce-cow,  lights  the  wood, 
and  a  fish  is  baked  whole,  bar-be-cued. 

They    then    attended    the    social     gathering 


Some  Indian  Words  309 

which  took  place  nightly  in  the  centre  of  the 
town.  The  company  amused  itself  until  a  late 
hour  with  singing  and  dancing. 

When  all  was  over,  the  day  brought  to  a  close, 
they  retired  by  the  light  of  a  pine  knot,  o-san-in- 
tak,  which  served  as  a  candle. 

Outside  all  was  dark.  Profound  quiet  reigned, 
except  for  the  wind  which  sighed  as  it  passed 
through  the  pine  trees,  while  overhead  the 
silent  stars,  pum-ma-humps,  stood  sentinel. 

THE     lover's  quarrel 

He:  Ken-cut-te-maum,  Good-morning.  Ne- 
tap,  my  dear  friend. 

She:  Cham-ah  wing-gap-o.  Welcome,  my  be- 
loved friend. 

He:      Pas-pas-a-at.     The  morning  is  fair. 

She:     Chin-gis-sum.     It  is  very  warm  weather. 

He:      Tan-a-o-wa-am?     Where  have  you  been .? 

She:    Yo-ax-u-uh.     Far  away. 

He :      Nu-me-roth-e-qui-er  ?   Your  companion  ? 

She:     Mah-maindg-no-hai-u-uh.     I  have  none. 

He:  Mat-ta-que-nat-o-rath.  I  understand 
you  not. 

She:  Mum-mas-cus-hen-e-po.  I  have  been 
asleep. 

He :     Kick-e-ten  qui-er.     Tell  me. 

She:     Ma-tush.     I  will  not. 

He:      Ne-tab.     I  am  your  friend. 

She:    Ken-ne-hau-tows.     I  understand  well. 

He:      Near-now-wan.     I   have  been. 


3IO  The  Forest  Primeval 

She :    War-nat.     Enough. 

He :      Net-a-peuh.     I  am  at  your  command. 

She :     Win-gan-ou-se.     Very  good. 

(He  gives  her  a  necklace  of  wampum.) 
He:     Thaig-wen-um-mer-a-an.     I  give  it  you 

gratis. 
She:    Ke-nah.     I  thank  you. 
He :      Kaw-ko-pen  qui-er.     I  drink  to  you. 
She:     Tang-go.     Let  me  see  it. 
He:      Jough-que-me  wath.     Let  us  go  away. 
She:     Nec-qu-ris-saw.     I  dare  not. 
He:      Me-ish-mi-co-an    ches-soy-ouk.     Give 
this  to  the  child. 
(Gives  her  a  rattle.) 
She:     Nu-wam-at-a-men.     I  love  it. 
He:      Cum-meish  yoo-wah.     Give  it  him. 
She:     Mal-a-com-me-ir.     I  will  not  give  it. 
He:      Hus-que-que-nat-o-ra.     Now   I   under- 
stand you. 

Tah-moc-as-se-uh.     He  hath  none. 
She:     Mon-i-naw.     The  cock  crows. 

Up-pou-shun.     The  ships  go  home. 
He:      Ca-cut-tew-indg ?     What  is  my  namcf* 
She:     Ca-iv-uh.     I  cannot  tell. 

No-e-wa-nath-soun.     I  have  forgotten. 
He:      Ke-ar!     You! 
She:     Cup-peh.     Yes. 
He:      Pas-ko-rath.     The  gold   sparkles  in  the 

sand. 
She:    Num-mas-kat-a-men.     I  care  not  for  it. 
He:      Koup-path-e.     Yea,  truly.? 
She:     Oi-ac-pi-jaun.     We  will  come  again. 


Some  Indian  Words  311 

He:      Tan-00  chick?     When? 
She:     Ra-i-ab.     To-morrow. 
He:      Kes-so-hi-ke-ar.     Shut  the  door. 
She:     Na-hay-hough.     I  have  it. 
He:      Noun-ma-is.     I  love  you.       ^ 
She:     Ne-trap-per  kup-per.     Sit  further. 
He:      Hus-que.     By  and  by. 
She:     Mut-tack.     No. 
He:      Nim.     Yes. 
She :     Ough-rath.     Far  off. 
He :      Com-mo-mais  ?     Do  you  love .? 
She:     Mat-tan-a-hay-yough.     I  have  it  not. 
(Turning  to  the  door.) 

Hat-ac-quo-ear.     Hold  it  aside. 

Num-ma?     Will  you  go  home.? 
He:      Kan-i-ough.     I  know  not. 

Kutt-chaw-e.     I  am  offended. 
She:     No-raugh  to-an.     Put  on  your  hat.' 
He :      Num-ma-cha.     I  will  go  home. 
She:     Wam-at-tuwh.     It  is  well. 

Un-tough.     Take  it. 

(Hands   him  his   hat,   pat-tih-qua-pis- 
son.) 
He :      Ah-ath.     Farewell. 
She:    Ke-ij.     Get  you  gone! 

(Throws  after  him  a  ring,  nek-e-rein- 
skeps,  which  he  had  given  her.) 

'  Of  course,  the  primitive  Indians  wore  no  hats.  Where  this 
man  got  this  hat,  we  cannot  say — possibly  from  some  Englishman 
whom  he  had  tomahawked. 


312 


The  Forest  Primeval 


THE   TROUBLESOME    TRAVELER 


Host:  Que-quoy-ter-nis  qui-re?    What  is 

your  name? 
Traveler:      Pi-pis-co. 
Host:  Ke-is?     How  many? 

Traveler:      Na-an-tu-cah  ne-cut.     Only  one,  I 

myself,  ne-ar, 
Host:  Ough.     It  is  well. 

Traveler:      Ro-o-ke-uh  co-an.     It  snoweth. 
Cur-cie  ne-i-re.     I  am  cold. 
0-ram-i-ath  south.     I  am  sick. 
How-ghu-eih    ta-kon     ne-i-re.       I 
am  hungry. 
Host:  (To  Attendant.)     Noc-mcha-min-o 

bok-e-taw.     Mend  up  the  fire. 
(To  Traveler.)    Me-ih-tus-suc.    Eat 
with  me. 
Traveler:     Ka-pes-se-map-a-an-gum.   Give  me 

a  little  piece. 
Host:  Min-chin  qui-re.     Eat  thou. 

Traveler:      Que-quoy?     What  is  this? 
Host:  Nec-o-on-dam-en.     It  is  good  meat. 

Traveler:      Me-ish-nah-me-cher.  Give  me  some 
meat. 
Me-cho-cusk.     I  will  eat  by  and  by. 
U-gau-co-pes-sum.     I  would  drink. 
Mam-ma-he     suc-qua-hum.      Give 
me  some  water. 
Host:  Um-doth.     Take  it. 

Traveler:      Nuts-se-qua-cup.     I  will    drink  no 
more. 


Some  Indian  Words 


313 


Host: 


Traveler: 


Host: 

Traveler: 

Host: 

Traveler: 

Host: 
Traveler: 

Host: 
Traveler: 


Pa-atch   nah    nun-gan.      Give   me 
some    butter    to    spread    on    my 
bread. 
Pas-e-me     up-po-oke.      Give     me 

some  tobacco. 
Win-gut-see  up-o-oc.     The  tobacco 

is  good. 
Bmser-an   ap-o-ok.     Fill   the   pipe 

with  tobacco. 
0-pot-e-yough.  The  pipe  is  stopped. 
Kesh-e-ma-ic  po-oc.     The  tobacco 

is  naught. 
Tawks  ne-ge-isp.     No  more.     I  am 

full. 
Tas-ho-ac.     All  is  out. 
0-wan-ough.     Who  hath  this? 
May-an-se.     I  have  it  not. 
Daw-ba-son-qui-re.  Warm  yourself. 
Ot-a-wi-a-ac   bac-a-taw.     The    fire 

is  out. 
Mat-a-ches-a.     It  is  not  lighted. 
Pow-tow-ho-ne    bok-e-tan.      Blow 

the  fire  with  your  mouth. 
As-sen-tew-ca-i-ah.     It  shineth. 
Win-gan        outs-sem-et-sum-ne-ic. 

My  foot  is  well. 
U-ne-gap-a-mut-ta     men-ne-tat-a- 

ki-i.     My  legs  ache. 
Mat-a-mau-ca-sun-ne-ih.      I   have 

no  shoes. 
Ken-o-rock-o-no-rem  qui-re. 

Come  look  at  my  head. 


314  The  Forest  Primeval 

Ah-kij.     It  hurts  me. 
Host:  Ne-hap-per.     Sit  down. 

Num-pe-nam-un.     Let  me  see  it. 
Traveler:     Ne-pun-che-ne-ir.     I  am  dead. 


THE    QUARRELSOME    CHIEFS 

"  Mow-chick  way-a-ugh  taugh  ne-o-ragh 
ka-que-re  me-cher.  I  am  very  hungry,  what 
shall  I  eat.? 

"  Taw-nor  ne-hiegh  Powhatan?  Where 
dwells  Powhatan.? 

"  Mach-e,  ne-hiegh  you-rough  Or-a-paks. 
Now  he  dwells  a  great  way  hence  at  Or-a-paks. 

"  Vit-ta-pitch-e-way-ne  an-pech-itchs  ne- 
haw-per  Wer-o-wo-co-mo-co.  You  lie,  he 
staid  ever   at   Wer-o-wo-co-mo-co. 

"  Ka-tor  ne-hiegh  mat-tagh  ne-er  ut-ta- 
pitch-e-way-ne.     Truly  he  is  there,  I  do  not  lie. 

"  Spaugh-tyn-e-re  ke-ragh  wer-6-wance 
Maw-mar-i-nough  kek-a-te-waugh  pey-a- 
qua-ugh.  Run  you  then  to  the  King  Maw-mar-i- 
nough  and  bid  him  come  hither. 

"Ut-te-ke  e-pey-a-wey-ack  wigh-whip.  Get 
you  gone,  and  come  again  quickly. 

"  Kek-a-ten  Po-ka-hon-tas  pat-i-a-quah  ni- 
ugh  tanks  ma-not-yens  neer  mow-chick 
raw-re-nock  au-dough.  Bid  Pokahontas  bring 
hither  two  little  baskets  and  I  will  give  her 
white  beads  to  make  her  a  chain."  ' 

'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  147-8. 


Some  Indian  Words  315 

The  meaning  of  a  few  of  their  names  of  places 
and  persons  has  been  preserved.  We  can  well 
wish  that  we  knew  more  of  them. 

Pocahontas  means  bright  stream  between  two 
hills. 

Wer-o-wo-com-o-co  means  the  chief  place  of 
council,  or  King's  House. 

Pa-mun-key  means  where  we  took  a  sweat. ' 

War-ros-quy-oake  means  point  of  land.  This 
was  the  original  name  of  Isle  of  Wight  County. 

Nan-se-mond  means  fishing-point. 

Ka-naw-ha  means  the  river  of  the  woods. 

Kentucky  means  dark  and  bloody  ground;  or, 
according  to  other  authorities,  at  the  head  of 
the  river;  long  river;  or  long  prairies.^ 

Ohio  means  the  beautiful  river;  or,  river  of 
blood. 

Roanoke  was  the  same  word  they  used  to 
designate  one  kind  of  their  shell  money,  and  was 
probably  given  to  the  locality  where  these  shells 
abounded. 

Chesapeake  means  the  mother  of  waters. 

Appomattox  means  sinuous  tidal  estuary.  ^ 

Potomac  means  water  flowing  in  cascades. 
The  lower  part  of  this  river,  to  which  such  a 
name  would  be  inappropriate,  was,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  Co-hon-go-roo-ta. 

Patuxent  means  water  flowing  over  mud. 

Patapsco  means  water  flowing  over  rocks. 


'  Campbell's  History  of  Virginia,  p.  193. 
'  Townsend's  United  States,  pp.  57,  61,  63. 
J  Brown's  First  Republic,  p.  194. 


3i6  The  Forest  Primeval 

Pocomoke  means  broken  by  knobs  or  small 
hills. 

Shenandoah  means  the  daughter  of  the  stars.  ^ 

Appalachian  appears  to  signify  those  on  the 
other  side. 

Tennessee,  from  one  of  the  Cherokee  villages, 
Tenas  See,  said  to  mean  a  curved  spoon. 

From  Townsend,  we  learn  that: 

Accomac  means  land  on  the  other  side  of  the 
water. 

Aquia  Creek  means  muddy  creek. 

Alleghany  River  means  the  river  of  the  AUi- 
ge-wi,  a  tribe  which  preceded  the  Delawares. 

Chickahominy  means  turkey-lick. 

Miami  River  means  stony  river. 

Muskingum  means  elk's  face. 

Rappahannock  means  the  river  of  quick 
rising  water.  "* 

Some  of  the  Indian  names  for  places  and 
streams  in  this  part  of  the  world,  which  they 
called  I-sen-a-com-ma-cah,  were: 

Pa-qua-chowng  was  their  name  for  the  region 
known  to  us  as  the  Falls  of  the  James. 

Accawmack  was  the  name  of  the  whole  penin- 
sula of  the  Eastern  Shore.  It  was  often  spoken 
of  as  the  Kingdom  of  Accomack. 

The  Powhatan  River  is  now  the  James  River. 

The  Appamattuck  still  retains  its  name, 
slightly  altered  in  spelling. 

'  Irving's  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  i.,  p.  39. 
'  Townsend's  United  States,  p.  82. 


Some  Indian  Words  317 

The  Qui-yough-co-han-ock  was  Chipoak 
Creek. 

War-ras-quoy-ack  Bay,  pronounced  War- 
ris-queak,  was  the  name  for  Burwell's  Bay. 

The  Nansemond  retains  its  name  as  a  stream. 

The  Chesapeake  River,  or  "brooke"  as 
Strachey  calls  it,  is  now  the  Elizabeth  River. 

The  Chesapeake  Bay  retains  its  name. 

The  Chick-a-ham-a-ni-a  retains  its  name 
slightly  altered  into  Chickahominy. 

Ke-cough-tan,  pronounced  Kik-o-tan,  is  now 
Hampton. 

The  Pamunck,  or  Pamunkey,  is  now  the  York. 

Chin-quo-teck  is  now  West  Point. 

The  Yough-ta-mund  is  now  the  Pamunkey. 

The  Mat-ta-pa-ment  is  now  the  Mattapony. 

The  Pa-yan-ka-tank  retains  its  name. 

The  0-pis-cat-u-meck  was  later  called  by  the 
Indians  the  Top-pa-han-ock,  then  by  the  English 
the  Queen's  River,  and  now  is  called  the  Rappa- 
hannock. 

The  Pa-taw-o-meck  was  called  by  the  English 
the  Elizabeth,  and  is  now  called  the  Potomac. 
Its  ancient  Indian  name  appears  to  have  been 
the  Co-hon-go-roo-ta. 

The  Qui-yough  River  is  now  Bull  Run. 

The  Paw-tux-ent  in  Maryland  retains  its 
name,  slightly  altered  in  spelling. 

The  Tock-wogh  is  now  the  Chester  River. 

The  Wi-com-i-co  River  in  Northumberland 
County  still  retains  its  name. 

Mob-jack  Bay  retains  its  name. 


3i8  The  Forest  Primeval 

On  the  Eastern  Shore  some  of  the  Indian 
names  which  have  been  preserved,  on  the  ocean 
side,  are: 

Chin-co-teague  Bay,  Inlet  and  Island. 

As-sa-teague  Island. 

Me-tom-kin  Inlet. 

Wach-a-preague  Inlet. 

Great  and  Little  Mach-i-pon-go  Inlets. 

Mock-orn  Island. 

And  on  the  Bay  side,  there  are: 

Mat-ta-wo-man  Creek. 

Nas-wad-dox  Creek. 

Oc-co-han-nock  Creek,  the  dividing  line  be- 
tween Northampton  and  Accomac. 

Crad-dock  Creek. 

Nan-qua  Creek. 

Pun-go-teague  Creek  and  Town. 

0-nan-cock  Creek  and  Town. 

Ches-con-es-sex  Creek. 

Mes-son-go  Creek. 

Po-co-moke  Sound  and  River. 

Big  An-ne-mes-sex  River. 

Man-o-kin  River. 

Wi-com-o-co  River. 

Nan-ti-coke  River  and  Point. 

Chop-tank  River,  formerly  the  Kus-car-a-wo- 
ak. 

Scattered  through  the  eastern  part  of  the 
State,  mainly,  the  following  Indian  names  have 
been  retained: 

Pungo,  the  name  of  a  locality  in  Princess  Anne. 


Some  Indian  Words  319 

Chuck-a-tuck  in  Nansemond. 

Wash-i-kee  in  Greensville. 

Po-quo-son  and  Mes-sick  in  York. 

To-a-no  in  James  City. 

Nax-e-ra,  Cap-pa-ho-sic,  Wi-com-i-co,  and 
Za-no-ni  in  Gloucester. 

Mis-kim-on  and  Co-an  in  Northumberland. 

Mach-o-doc  in  Westmoreland. 

Tap-pa-han-nock  and  Nan-lak-la  in  Essex. 

Man-ta-pike  and  Pow-can  in  King  and  Queen. 

Ro-man-coke,  Man-quin,  Man-go-hick,  and 
Co-ho-ke  in  King  William. 

Ma-to-a-ca  and  Win-ter-pock  in  Chesterfield. 

Na-moz-ine  Creek  and  Ro-wan-ta  in  Din- 
widdie. 

The  Me-her-rin  River  and  To-ta-no  in  Bruns- 
wick. 

Chap-ti-co,  O-lo,  No-go,  Pu-pa,  and  the 
Nottoway  River  in  Lunenburg. 

The  Roanoke  River  in  Mecklenburg. 

Pas-sa-pa-tan-zy,  A-qui-a,  To-lu-ca,  and 
Potomac  Creek  in  Stafford. 

Quan-ti-co,  Ne-abs-co,  Ca-thar-pin,  and  Oc- 
co-quan  Creek  in  Prince  William. 

Ac-co-tink  in  Fairfax. 

Kit-to c-ton  Creek  in  Loudoun. 

A-to-ka  and  So-we-go  in  Fauquier. 

La-ko-ta  in  Culpeper. 

Mas-sa-po-nax  and  Pan-i-en  in  Spottsylvania. 

Nan-lak-i-a  and  Pas-sing  In  Caroline. 

Tabs-cott,  Lan-tan-a,  Sha-ko,  and  Man-a- 
kin In  Goochland. 


320  The  Forest  Primeval 

Mat-to-ax  in  Amelia. 

To-ro  in  Charlotte. 

Or-rix  in  Bedford. 

In  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  the  Shen-an-do-ah 
River: 

The  Big  Moc-ca-sin  Creek  in  Scott. 

Ca-taw-ba  Creek  in  Roanoke  and  Botetourt. 

The  0-pe-quan  River,  pronounced  the 
Opeckon,  which  forms  the  boundary  between 
Frederick  and  Clarke. 

Row-an-ty  and  Sappony  Creeks  in  Dinwiddie 
and  Sussex. 

Seneca  Creek  in  Campbell. 

Shaddock's  Creek  in  Southampton. 

Shock-oe  Creek  in  Pittsylvania,  and  Wa-qua 
Creek  in  Brunswick. 

Mountains  which  still  bear  their  Indian 
names  are  the  Cacapon  which  form  the  western 
boundary  of  Frederick,  the  AUeghanies,  and  the 
whole  Appalachian  Range.  Qui-ra-uk,  the  name 
given  by  the  Indians  to  the  first  settlers  as  that 
of  the  Blue  Ridge,  has  disappeared. 

We  have  only  one  sample  of  Indian  poetry, 
and  this  is  how  we  obtained  it. 

A  slight  advantage  which  the  Indians  once 
gained  in  an  encounter  was  the  occasion  of  much 
rejoicing  on  their  part.  They  regarded  it  as  a 
great  victory,  and  made  it  the  subject  of  a  scorn- 
ful war-song  of  triumph.  This  remarkable  pro- 
duction is  preserved  for  us  by  Strachey.  He 
tells  us: 


Some  Indian  Words  321 

"They  have  contrived  a  kind  of  angry  song 
against  us,  in  their  homely  rhymes,  which  con- 
cludeth  with  a  kind  of  petition  unto  their  Okeus, 
and  to  all  the  host  of  their  idols,  to  plague  the 
Tas-san-tas-ses'  (for  so  they  call  us)  and  their 
posterities;  as  likewise  another  scornful  song 
they  made  of  us  last  year  at  the  falls,  in  manner 
of  triumph,  at  what  time  they  killed  Captain 
William  West,  our  Lord  General's  nephew,  and 
two  or  three  more,  and  took  one  Symon  Skove, 
a  sailor,  and  one  Cob,  a  boy,  prisoners.  That 
song  goeth  thus: 

"  Mat-a-ne-rew      sha-sha-she-waw      e-ra-wan-go 

pe-che-co-ma 
Whe      Tas-san-tas-sa      in-o-shas-haw-ye-hoc-kan 

po-co-sack: 
Whe  whe,  yah  ha-ha  ne-he  wit-to-wa,  wit-to-wa. 

"  Mat-a-ne-rew      sha-sha-she-waw      e-ra-wan-go 

pe-che-co-ma 
Captain    Newport   in-o-shas-haw  neir   in-hoc   na- 

ti-an     ma-tas-san: 
Whe  whe,  yah  ha-ha  ne-he  wit-to-wa,  wit-to-wa. 

"  Mat-a-ne-rew      sha-sha-she-waw      e-ra-wan-go 

pe-che-co-ma 
Thomas  Newport   in-o-shas-haw  neir   in-hoc   na- 

ti-an    mon-cock : 
Whe  whe,  yah  ha-ha,  ne-he  wit-to-wa,  wit-to-wa. 

'The  word  ut-tas-san-tas-so-wa-ih  meant  stranger.  This  name 
which  the  Indians  gave  the  EngHsh  probably  meant  the  strange 
people,  the  foreigners. 


2,22  The  Forest  Primeval 

"  Mat-a-ne-rew       sha-sha-she-waw       e-ra-wan-go 

pe-che-co-ma 
Po-chin    Simon    mo-sha-shaw    nin-gon     na-ti-an 

mon-a-hack: 
Whe  whe,  yah  ha-ha  ne-he  wit-to-wa,  wit-to-wa. 

"Which  may  signify  how  they  killed  us  for  all 
our  poc-ca-sacks,  that  is  our  guns,  and  for  all 
that  Captain  Newport  brought  them  copper, 
and  could  hurt  Thomas  Newport  (a  boy  whose 
name  indeed  was  Thomas  Savage,  who  Captain 
Newport  leaving  with  Powhatan  to  learn  the 
language,  at  what  time  he  presented  the  said 
Powhatan  with  a  copper  crown,  and  other  gifts 
from  his  Majesty,  said  he  was  his  son)  for  all  his 
mon-a-chock,  that  is  his  bright  sword,  and  how 
they  could  take  Symon  (for  they  seldom  said 
our  surnames)  prisoner  for  all  his  tam-a-hanke, 
that  is  his  hatchet,  adding,  as  for  a  burden  unto 
their  song,  what  lamentation  our  people  made 
when  they  killed  him,  namely,  saying  how  they 
would  cry  whe,  whe,  etc.,  which  they  mocked 
us  for,  and  cried  again  to  us  yah,  ha,  ha,  Te-wit- 
ta-wa,  Te-wit-ta-wa ;  for  it  is  true  they  never 
bemoan  themselves  nor  cry  out,  giving  up  so 
much  as  a  groan  for  any  death,  how  cruel  soever 
and  full  of  torment."' 

Among  the  Indian  words  which  were  adopted 
by  the  English  and  which  are  still  in  use  are: 
Pone,  a  word  taken  from  their  Op-pone,  which 

'  Historic  of  Travaile,  etc.,  p.  79. 


Some  Indian  Words  323 

meant  bread.  It  is  used  now  generally  in  con- 
nection with  corn  bread — a  pone  of  corn  bread. 

Pocosin,  land  on  which  water  stands  in  wet 
weather.     The  word  signifies  dreary. 

Persimmon,  the  well-known  wild  fruit. 

Hickory,  the  tough  wooded  tree  with  which  we 
are  familiar. 

Chinkapin,  the  dwarf  chestnut. 

Opossum,  or  possum. 

Raccoon,  or  coon. 

Scuppernong,  a  sweet  grape. 

Hominy,  the  familiar  article  of  food. 

Barbecue,  a  word  taken  from  their  mode  of 
roasting  fish  and  animals  whole. 

Succotash,  a  dish  of  corn  and  beans  mixed. 

Paw-waw-ing,  a  word  which  meant  the  con- 
jurations of  the  priest,  has  been  preserved  with 
an  altered  meaning. 

Moccasin,  the  name  of  a  deadly  snake. 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE    TRIBES    AND    NATIONS 

IT  would  probably  be  impossible  to  name  all  the 
Indian  tribes  living  in  Virginia  in  1607. 
The  division  seems  to  have  been,  in  some  in- 
stances, into  very  small  units.  The  inhabitants 
of  one  small  village,  being  often  spoken  of  as 
a  tribe.  The  great  divisions  were,  in  the  east, 
the  Powhatan  Confederacy,  composed  of  many 
tribes;  in  the  center  of  the  State,  the  Man-a-kins 
or  Mon-a-cans,  and  the  Man-nah-o-acs;  still 
farther  to  the  west,  in  the  mountainous  part  of 
the  State,  were  the  Shaw-a-nese,  the  Cher-o-kees, 
the  Tus-ca-ro-ras,  and  others. 

The  center  and  heart  of  the  Powhatan  Con- 
federacy was  composed  of  the  following  six  tribes, 
whose  sovereignty  Powhatan  had  inherited. 
These  were  his  oldest  and  most  faithful  subjects. 
They  were  the  Powhatans,  the  Pa-mun-keys, 
the  Ar-ro-ha-tecks,  the  Ap-pa-mat-tucks,  the 
Yough-ta-munds,  and  the  Mat-ta-pam-i-ents, 
which  we  will  now  consider  in  order. 

The  Powhatans.  This  was  Powhatan's  own 
personal  tribe,  and  numbered  forty  warriors. 
They  lived  on  the  north  side  of  the  James,  in 
324 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  325 

Henrico  County,  near  Richmond,  which  county 
is  full  of  their  arrow-  and  spear-heads,  their  toma- 
hawks, pottery,  mortars,  and  pestles.  In  all  of 
his  ancient,  inherited,  tribal  headquarters,  he 
had  houses  built  after  their  manner  like  arbors, 
some  thirty,  some  forty  yards  long,  and  at  every 
house  provision  was  made  for  him  according  to 
the  time  of  his  staying  there.  The  King  of  this 
tribe  was  Taux  Pow-ha-tan,  which  means  "  Little 
Powhatan, "  one  of  the  great  Powhatan's  sons.  ^ 

Their  chief  town  was  named  Powhatan,  and 
was  situated  at  Mayo's.  ^ 

This  tribe  is  mentioned  in  the  acts  in  connec- 
tion with  the  following  transaction: 

"Me-tap-pin  a  Powhatan  Indian  being  sold 
for  lifetime  to  one  EHzabeth  Short  by  the  King 
of  Wainoake  Indians  who  had  no  power  to  sell 
him  being  of  another  nation,  it  is  ordered  that 
the  said  Indian  be  free,  he  speaking  perfectly  the 
English  tongue  and  desiring  baptism."  ^ 

Such  references  as  this  in  the  Acts  of  Assembly 
which  are  given  herein  in  connection  with  many 
of  the  tribes,  insignificant  apparently  in  and  by 
themselves,  yet  serve  not  only  to  show  the  indi- 
vidual existence  of  the  tribes  thus  mentioned, 
but  they  throw  a  strong  light  on  the  relations 
between  these  tribes  and  the  Virginians,  and  the 
methods  adopted  by  the  Colonial  Government 
of  dealing  with  them  and  their  tribal  lands.  In 
the  case  of  some  of  the  more  obscure  tribes  these 

'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  Ii6,  142. 

'  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89.  » 2  Hening,  155. 


326  The  Forest  Primeval 

references  are  practically  the  only  authentic,  or 
easily  accessible,  authority  we  have  to  rely  upon 
for  the  recognition  by  the  Colony  of  these  tribes 
as  separate  or  distinct  powers,  at  a  time  when  the 
Indians  constituted  a  political  and  military  force 
which  had  to  be  reckoned  with. 

The  Pa-mun-keys.  Smith  says,  "Where  the 
river  [the  York]  is  divided,  the  country  Is 
called  Pamaunkee,  and  nourisheth  near  three 
hundred  able  men."  This  description  Included 
much  of  the  area  bounded  by  the  Pamunkey  and 
the  Mattapony  rivers.  Their  wer-6-ance  was 
0-pe-chan-ca-nough,  the  most  bitter  and  aggres- 
sive of  the  enemies  of  the  English.  Their  name 
was  originally  borne  by  the  noble  York,  and  the 
stream  now  called  by  their  name  was  then 
styled  the  Yough-i-a-nund. '  Their  chief  town 
was  Ro-mun-cock.  ^ 

0-pe-chan-ca-nough's  two  brothers  assisted  in 
the  government  of  this  large  tribe,  and  the  three 
are  spoken  of  by  Strachey  as  the  triumviri  of 
that  country.^ 

To  write  a  history  of  the  Pamunkeys  would 
involve  much  of  the  colonial  history  of  Virginia. 
They  appear  again  and  again  upon  Its  pages,  and 
in  the  acts  of  the  General  Assembly.  For  many 
years  they  formed  the  heart  and  head  of  the 
opposing  power.  Originating  with  Its  cunning 
and  relentless  old  king,  and  carried  Into  execu- 
tion in  large  part  by  their  formidable  warriors, 

»  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  117,  142.  '  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89. 

3  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  62. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  327 

were  the  massacres  of  1622  and  1644.  But  they 
finally  became  our  allies,  and  fought  side  by  side 
with  us  in  our  wars  with  other  Indians. 

This  tribe,  which  is  much  older  than  the 
Commonwealth  or  Colony  of  Virginia,  is  still  in 
existence,  and  forms  an  Interesting  link  which 
connects  the  present  with  the  long  forgotten  past. 

On  September  5th,  1908,  the  writer  visited 
the  reservation  of  the  Pamunkey  tribe,  in  King 
William  County,  about  twenty-four  miles  east 
of  Richmond.  He  was  met  at  White  House 
Station,  on  the  Southern  Railroad,  by  a  member 
of  the  tribe,  Mr.  S.  J.  Sweatt,  who  acted  as  guide, 
and  conducted  him  at  once  across  the  Pamunkey, 
taking  the  railroad  bridge  and  causeway,  as  the 
nearest  route.  The  causeway,  which  is  a  long 
one,  built  across  the  original  channel  of  the  river, 
was  taken  from  the  soil  of  the  reservation. 
The  guide  represented  this  as  being  an  invasion 
of  their  rights.  He  even  said  that  they  had  had 
trouble  in  preventing  two  burial  grounds  being 
cut  away  for  this  work.  They  were  saved,  how- 
ever, and  stand  out  like  little  hills,  on  the  green 
sward  which  now  covers  the  part  dug  away. 

The  railroad  runs  through  the  reservation, 
nearly  at  its  northern  limit.  The  area  of  the 
whole  tract  is  now  only  some  seven  hundred  or 
eight  hundred  acres,  having  been  subjected  to 
successive  reductions. 

Our  first  visit  was  to  the  chief  of  the  tribe, 
George  Major  Cooke.  The  chief  was  not  at 
home,  he  was  engaged  in  one  of  the  proper  ways 


328  The  Forest  Primeval 

an  Indian  chief  would  be  engaged — he  was  fishing. 
Promises  were  held  out  to  us  that  he  would 
return  in  a  short  time,  and  meanwhile  we  were 
introduced  to  his  squaw,  his  papooses,  and  his 
wigwam. 

His  squaw,  in  whom  we  viewed  the  successor 
to  the  queens  of  Pamunkey,  is  a  typical  Indian, 
in  middle  life,  thin,  and  then  engaged,  for  it  was 
still  early,  in  the  affairs  of  housekeeping.  Her 
name  is  Theodora  Octavia  Cooke,  which  com- 
pound of  Greek,  Latin,  and  English  could  hardly 
be  considered  as  appropriate  to  her  as  would  have 
been  one  of  her  own  language.  Around  her  was 
a  goodly  set  of  little  Indians,  but  the  two  oldest 
sons  were  absent,  being  off  with  their  father 
fishing,  these  two  were  Major  Thomas  Cooke, 
twenty  years  old,  and  Ottigney  Pontiac  Cooke, 
aged  eighteen.  With  their  mother  were  George 
Theo  Cooke,  a  fine-looking  young  Pamunkey  of 
seventeen,  Captola  Eulalia  Cooke,  a  pretty  girl 
of  fifteen,  Tecumseh  Deerfoot  Cooke,  a  hand- 
some little  fellow  of  eight,  Dora  Laughingwater 
Cooke,  an  attractive  little  girl  of  five,  and 
Pocahontas  Tarquinas  Cooke,  a  sweet  and  pretty 
baby  of  two. 

The  house  of  the  chief  was  a  good-sized  frame 
building,  with  outhouses  and  garden,  and  one 
of  the  first  one  meets  with  on  entering  the 
reservation.  In  this  could  be  seen  somxC  pottery 
and  bead-work,  made  by  the  members  of  the 
family.  The  pottery  was  all  pipes,  various  de- 
vices being  presented,  such  as  the  terrible  war- 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  329 

rior's  head,  the  tomahawk,  canoe,  and  other 
shapes.  The  bead-work  was  very  pretty,  taking 
the  shape  of  women's  belts,  necklaces,  and  fobs. 

While  these  things  were  being  examined,  our 
guide  had  gone  to  his  house,  which  was  not  far 
distant,  and  now  returned  with  a  buggy,  rather 
the  worse  for  wear,  drawn  by  a  small,  claybank 
horse.  With  this  locomotive  equipment  we  set 
off  at  a  brisk  trot,  to  view  the  reservation. 

Our  road  was  alv^ays  down  some  green  lawn, 
about  thirty  feet  wide,  bordered  by  cornfields, 
and  enclosed  by  fences.  These  roadways  were 
kept  as  a  common  of  pasture  by  the  tribe.  The 
ruts  cut  by  the  carriages  did  not  much  disfigure 
them,  and  the  general  appearance  of  the  whole 
place  was  made  picturesque  by  these  long 
stretches  of  green  grass. 

The  place  is  called  ''Indian  Town,"  and  of 
course  one  would  naturally  expect  to  find  at 
least  one  cluster  of  houses,  to  which  the  name 
would  more  particularly  apply.  But  there  is 
none  such.  The  "Town"  is  a  collection  of  small 
farms,  ranging  from  ten  to  twelve  acres,  or 
thereabouts,  in  area.  A  large  part  of  the  reser- 
vation is  still  forest.  The  settlement  gives  one 
the  impression  of  a  well-populated  rural  neigh- 
borhood, the  several  houses  being  so  near  to  each 
other,  that  from  any  one,  you  would  be  able 
to  see  probably  three  or  four  others.  All  are 
of  frame,  and  most  below  the  general  average  of 
size  and  appointment  found  among  the  smaller  of 
the  white  farmers,  although  all  are  framed  accord- 


330  The  Forest  Primeval 

ing  to  our  general  plans  for  such  structures. 
Two  were  of  two  stories,  and  pretty  good  houses, 
but  most  are  very  small. 

The  cultivation  of  the  land  is  the  real  support 
of  these  people.  They  still  do  a  little  hunting 
and  fishing,  but  their  territory  has  been  so  much 
reduced,  and  their  right  to  roam,  fish,  and  hunt 
in  the  neighborhood  has  been  so  curtailed,  that 
this  source  of  income  can  only  be  considered  as 
an  occasional  addition  to  their  more  sure  support, 
which  is  derived  from  tilling  the  soil,  over  which 
their  warlike  ancestors  roamed  at  will. 

The  tribe  is  now  reduced  to  about  one  hundred 
and  ten,  and  there  are  some  twenty-five  of  their 
houses  on  the  reservation.  Of  these,  about  five 
are  now  unoccupied.  The  land  belongs  to  the 
State  of  Virginia,  held  in  trust  by  it  for  the  tribe 
as  a  whole.  No  one  thus  owns  any  part  of  the 
soil  in  severalty.  The  various  tracts  are  assigned 
to  the  head  of  a  family  for  his  life.  The  house 
is  built  at  his  expense,  and  is  his  property.  If 
he  die  leaving  a  family,  it  will  be  allowed  to  re- 
main in  the  possession  of  his  widow  or  son,  the 
youngest  being  preferred,  if  of  suflficient  age,  and 
if  he  have  the  desire  to  continue  to  occupy  it. 
The  theory  is,  that  every  one  must  have  a  sufli- 
cient  piece  of  land,  and  If  there  should  be  a  de- 
mand made  by  a  member,  who  was  unprovided 
with  land,  if  necessary,  a  part  would  be  taken 
from  him  who  held  the  largest  piece. 

We  stopped  on  the  roadside  a  Mr.  Bradby,  the 
former  chief.     He  was  very  affable,   his  large 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  331 

round  face  smiling  beneath  a  torn,  straw  hat. 
He  looked  the  picture  of  health,  but  not  particu- 
larly Indian.  He  was  impressed  with  the  need 
of  education  for  his  tribe,  and  thought  that  with 
better  facilities,  his  brethren  might  distinguish 
themselves  at  the  bar,  in  medicine,  or  other  such 
liberal  calling. 

We  visited  several  families.  They  received 
us  very  politely,  were  thoroughly  friendly,  and 
seemed  to  be  pleased  at  the  interest  which  they 
felt  the  outside  world  took  in  them.  One  of  the 
most  agreeable  and  interesting  was  a  tall,  and 
very  powerful  man,  Mr.  Samson,  who,  at  ten  in 
the  morning,  was  sitting  on  his  front  porch  shav- 
ing before  a  small  round  mirror,  of  a  very  irregular 
surface,  hung  up  on  the  front  of  the  house.  He 
wore  a  small  black  moustache,  but  for  all  that, 
was  an  Indian  all  over.  He  was  clad  in  a  thick 
gray  undershirt,  corduroy  pants,  and  rubber 
boots,  though  the  day  was  dry  and  warm. 

His  house  he  had  built  with  his  own  hands.  It 
had  two  rooms  which  were  just  about  large 
enough  for  him  to  move  around  in.  He  was 
a  merry  bachelor,  possibly  sixty  years  old,  but 
who  looked  fifteen  years  younger.  He  did  not 
know  how  old  he  was.  When  asked  how  he,  so 
good  looking  a  mian,  had  escaped  the  fascinations 
of  the  fair  sex,  he  laughed  very  heartily.  His 
general  defense  for  his  conduct  was  that  the 
women  now  were  not  what  they  used  to  be;  they 
seemed  to  be  of  so  much  more  flippant  a  nature 
than  formerly,  and  not  half  so  fond  of  hard  work. 


332  The  Forest  Primeval 

Mr.  Samson  did  not  seem  to  think,  that  in  losing 
one  of  these  modern  helpmeets  he  had  lost  much, 
but  yet,  the  possibihties  of  matrimony  he  still 
considered  within  his  reach. 

One  old  woman  we  called  upon,  the  oldest 
member  of  the  settlement,  and  who  lived  in  one 
of  the  two  best  houses,  was  feeling  so  unwell  that 
we  did  not  stay  long.  She  was  about  eighty 
years  old.  We  found  her  sitting  by  a  little  wood 
fire,  with  a  sunbonnet  on.  She  had  felt  very 
cold  in  the  early  morning,  and  was  still  suffering, 
so  we  thought  it  kindness  to  leave  her. 

At  every  house  was  to  be  seen  one  or  more 
guns.  One  family  was  cutting  up  apples  to  dry. 
Another  was  getting  ready  to  move  to  New  York 
where  the  father  worked,  the  family  coming 
down  to  Pamunkey  during  the  school  vacation 
season.  This  family  had  a  very  new  house, 
which  presented  quite  a  contrast  to  most  of  the 
others.  The  mother  of  this  family  was  a  Chicka- 
hominy  Indian.  One  of  their  daughters,  who  was 
present,  was  a  buxom  young  squaw,  very  fair, 
and  still  attending  school.  When  looking  at 
her,  we  could  not  help  thinking  of  the  lonely,  but 
very  happy,  Mr.  Samson,  who  lived  just  a  little 
bit  down  the  road. 

The  guide  thought  the  chief  had  probably 
caught  enough  fish  by  this  time,  so  we  drove 
down  the  verdant  thoroughfares  towards  his 
home.  These  thoroughfares  were  soft  enough 
for  the  horses  feet,  and  pleasant  enough  to  drive 
over,  but  they  were  not  kept  in  the  best  condition. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  333 

Little  labor  seems  to  ever  have  been  bestowed 
upon  them.  Where  a  lagoon  passes  across  the 
road,  it  simply  stays  there ;  no  effort  is  made  to 
bridge  it,  nor  fill  up  the  road.  At  one  place,  a 
broad  and  deep  pond  occupied  the  road  for  some 
distance.  Our  driver  calmly  drove  down  into  it, 
and  kept  going  until  he  pulled  up  out  of  it,  on 
the  other  side.  All  this  had  the  charm  of  being 
just  so  perfectly  natural. 

When  we  reached  the  chief's  house,  we  found 
that  he  had  returned,  and,  having  received  the 
letters  of  introduction  which  we  had  left  for  him, 
he  was  very  affable.  He  was  tall,  rather  thin,  a 
typical  looking  Indian,  in  appearance  not  an 
unworthy  successor  of  0-pe-chan-ca-nough  and 
Tot-to-pot-to-moy.  Being  asked  if  he  minded 
having  his  photograph  taken,  he  complained  a 
little  of  the  way  he  had  to  sit  for  pictures  of 
which  he  never  got  a  copy.  But  we  promised 
to  give  him  a  copy  of  this  picture,  if  he  would 
honor  us  with  a  sitting.  The  question  of  cos- 
tume then  came  up.  The  chief  had  been  exhib- 
ited at  the  Jamestown  Exposition,  and,  in  order 
to  present  a  proper  appearance,  had  let  his  hair 
grow  long,  and  has  not  cut  it  since.  He  prompt- 
ly decided  that  his  separate,  individual  picture 
he  would  have  taken  in  costume,  so,  arranged  in 
all  the  regalia  of  deerskin  and  beads,  armed  with 
spear,  bow,  arrows,  and  tomahawk,  he  stood  in 
solitary  grandeur  while  a  kodak  was  snapped  in 
front  of  him.  And  then,  a  group-picture,  in  his 
ordinary  costume  had  to  be  taken,  so  the  chief 


334  The  Forest  Primeval 

and  his  squaw,  sitting  side  by  side,  surrounded 
by  six  of  their  offspring,  were  similarly  tortured. 

The  guide,  who  was  the  second  Pamunkey 
husband  of  a  white  woman,  now  took  us  to  his 
house,  one  of  the  best  on  the  reservation,  where 
the  writer  was  presented  to  this  fair  admirer  of 
the  Pamunkeys.  She  was  a  very  nice  looking 
young  woman,  with  as  dark  complexion  as  many 
of  the  Indians.  The  house  was  surrounded  by 
flowers,  and  presented  a  very  tidy  appearance. 

There  are  only  two  houses  of  a  public  character 
on  the  reservation,  the  schoolhouse,  a  little, 
whitewashed  affair,  so  small  that  you  would 
never  think  it  a  public  building,  and  the  church. 
This  latter  is  prettily  situated  in  a  tall  grove  of 
trees,  and  is  of  a  respectable  size.  The  Pamun- 
keys are  all  Baptists;  Okee's  reign  is  ended. 

The  authority  of  the  chief,  who  is  elected  by 
the  tribe,  is  more  persuasive  than  otherwise.  He 
is  the  titular  head  of  the  tribe,  decides  disputes 
on  the  reservation,  keeps  order,  and  represents 
the  tribe  in  all  its  public  affairs.  Associated 
with  him  is  a  council  of  four. 

The  tribe  pays  no  taxes  to  the  State  of  Vir- 
ginia, except  the  tribute  imposed  upon  it  in  the 
early  days  of  the  settlement,  when  it  became 
tributary  to  the  English,  acknowledging  the 
superiority  of  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain.  This 
tribute  consists  in  game,  which  the  chief  delivers 
each  year  to  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  at  the 
State  capitol,  on  'New  Year's  day.  According 
to  the  varying  circumstances  of  the  chase,  it  may 


The  Home  of  a  Pamunkey  Indian 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  335 

be  a  deer,  a  wild  turkey,  ducks,  or  fish.  The 
local  tax  imposed  upon  each  man  of  the  tribe  is 
the  sum  of  one  dollar.  The  chief  receives  no 
salary,  and  this  fund  goes  for  other  general 
purposes. 

Little  of  the  aboriginal  Indian  appears  to-day 
in  the  settlement,  for  the  houses,  furniture,  and 
costume  correspond  to  those  of  the  neighborhood, 
but  the  Indian  physiognomy  is  presented  per- 
fectly in  many  cases,  and  these  Pamunkeys,  if 
dressed  in  the  costume  of  their  ancestors,  could 
not  be  distinguished  from  those  met  with  in 
1 607. 

Their  customs  of  marriage,  and  all  such  im- 
portant matters,  are  now  in  conformity  with 
Virginia  law.  The  authority  of  the  chief  extends 
to  the  adjustment  of  small  difficulties  arising 
in  the  settlement,  but  punishment  for  homicide 
would  be  meted  out  by  the  regular  courts  of  the 
Commonwealth.  The  chief  has  no  sufficient 
force  at  his  disposal  to  cope  with  such  serious 
difficulties. 

The  Pamunkeys  consider  themselves  a  poor 
people.  Their  cultivation  of  the  soil  is  fairly 
good,  corn  and  peas  being  their  chief  products 
but  they  are  not  large  proprietors,  and  they  have 
to  plant  the  same  field  over  and  over  again 
allowing  the  land  no  time  to  rest.  Many  have 
gone  outside  for  employment.  The  population 
of  the  tribe  is  about  at  a  standstill.  No  mar- 
riages are  now  contracted  with  any  but  other 
Indians,  or  white  people,  the  Pamunkeys  holding 


33^  The  Forest  Primeval 

themselves,  as  they  do,  superior  to  the  colored 
people.  The  Indian  type,  presented  by  all  the 
children  the  writer  saw,  was  very  distinct. 

This  little  settlement  represents  the  largest  or- 
ganized body  of  the  formerly  large  number  of 
Virginia  Indians.  As  such,  a  deep  historic 
interest  attaches  to  them,  not  only  for  what  they 
immediately  represent,  but  also  as  constituting 
an  exception  to  the  general  scheme  of  the  con- 
struction of  society,  as  at  present  organized; 
for  here,  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Pamunkey, 
there  still  exists  tribal  government. 

The  Mat-ta-po-nys.  These  lived  on  the  river 
now  named  after  them,  but  which  was  originally 
called  the  Mat-ta-pa-ment,  In  what  is  now  King 
William  or  King  and  Queen  County.  Their  King 
was  Wer-o-waugh. '  They  numbered  one  hundred 
and  forty,  and  could  muster  thirty  warriors.^ 
They  are  said  to  have  been  a  branch  of  the 
Pamunkeys. 

This  tribe  was  also  called  the  Mat-ta-pam-i- 
ents  or  Mat-ta-pa-ments. 

The  following  measure  passed  in  1662  shows 
that  the  Virginians  were  always  ready  to  do 
justice  to  these  people: 

''It  is  ordered  by  the  assembly  that  Lieuten- 
ant Colonel  Goodrldge  be  summoned  to  appear 
before  the  honorable  governor  and  council  at 
next  quarter  court  to  answer  the  complaint  of 
the  king  of  the  Mat-ta-po-ny  Indians  concerning 

'  History  of  Travaile  into  Virghiia,  p.  62. 
»  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  117. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  337 

the  burning  of  his  English  house,'  and  that  the 
said  Indian  king  have  notice  given  him  to  be 
present."  ^ 

This  tribe  is  also  yet  in  existence  and  occupies 
a  reservation  in  King  William  County.  They 
number  in  all  about  fifty. 

In  1894,  trustees  were  appointed  for  the  Mat- 
ta-po-ni  tribe  in  King  William  County:  "Said 
trustees  shall  be  governed  by  the  laws  now  in 
force  in  regard  to  Indians  and  their  reservations 
in  this  State;  and,  further,  shall  have  the  right 
upon  the  vote  of  the  majority  of  the  trustees,  and 
also  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the  tribe 
above  twenty-one  years  of  age,  to  expel  from 
their  reservation  any  person  who  has  no  right 
upon  said  reservation,  or  any  member  of  the 
tribe  who  shall  be  guilty  of  any  unlawful  offense : 
provided  that  any  person  expelled  from  said 
reservation  shall  have  the  right  of  appeal  to  the 
county  court  of  King  William  from  the  decision 
of  the  trustees  and  the  members  of  the  tribe. "  ^ 

The  Ar-ro-ha-tecks.  These  lived  in  Henrico, 
a  little  below  the  Powhatans.  Their  military 
force  was  thirty  warriors.  The  chief  was  Ash- 
u-a-quid.  "^ 

Their  chief  town  was  Ar-ro-ha-teck.^ 

The  Ap-po-ma-tucks.  This  tribe  lived  on  the 
river  of  that  name,  in  Chesterfield  County,  and 
counted  sixty  warriors.     Their  wer-6-ance  was 

"  House  built  after  the  English  method.  »  2  Hening,  155. 

3  Acts  1893-4,  P-  973;  1895-6,  P-  923- 

4  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  116,  117,  142.  s  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89. 


338  The  Forest  Primeval 

Co-quo-na-sum.  It  was  the  Queen  of  this  tribe 
who  was  appointed  to  bring  Captain  Smith  water 
to  wash  his  hands  with,  when  he  was  carried  cap- 
tive before  Powhatan.  Their  chief  town  was  at 
Bermuda  Hundred,  near  Petersburg.'  It  was 
assauhed  by  Sir  Thomas  Dale  in  December,  i6i  i, 
in  revenge  for  some  injuries  done  by  them,  and 
taken  without  the  loss  of  a  man.-  They  were 
bitter  enemies  of  the  English,  and  were  among 
those  against  whom  Bacon  conducted  his 
campaign  in  1676. 

Over  one  of  the  small  villages  of  this  tribe 
ruled  a  sister  of  Co-quo-na-sum.  In  1610  she 
lured  fourteen  of  the  English  into  her  town,  in- 
sisting upon  their  leaving  their  guns  in  the  boat. 
The  women  were  afraid  of  them,  she  said.  The 
English  were  slaughtered  to  a  man.  In  revenge, 
the  town  was  burned,  and  many  of  the  Indians 
slain. ^ 

The  Yough-ta-munds,  also  written  Yough-i-a- 
nunds.  They  lived  on  the  headwaters  of  the 
Pamunkey,  which  In  that  part  bore  this  name, 
probably  In  Hanover  County,  or  on  the  south 
side  of  the  York,  possibly  In  both  places.  The 
word  "yough"  in  Indian  meant  four.  We  may 
surmise  from  this  fact,  that  this  tribe  was  a 
composite  one."* 

This  tribe  once  numbered  seventy,  and  Its 
wer-6-ance  was  Po-mis-ca-tuck.^ 

»  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  ii6,  117,  142,  162;  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89. 

^  Stith,  p.  124.  3  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  56. 

■»  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  117,  142. 

s  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  62. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  339 

These  six  were  the  inherited  tribes,  the  follow- 
ing were  added  to  them,  by  the  conquests  or 
diplomacy  of  Powhatan. 

We  will  first  take  the  tribes  on  the  James,  or 
its  tributaries  and  connections.     They  were: 

The  We-an-ocks.  These  lived  in  Charles 
City,  Prince  George  and  Surry  counties,  and 
claimed  one  hundred  warriors.  Their  King 
was  Ka-quoth-o-cun,  '  and  their  chief  town, 
Wey-o-noke.^ 

This  tribe  is  mentioned  in  the  acts.  It  was 
their  king  who  illegally  sold  the  Powhatan 
Indian,  already  mentioned. 

They  are  again  mentioned  in  the  acts,  in  1693, 
when  the  Surry  County  Court  was  ordered  **to 
assign  a  particular  mark  to  each  of  the  towns  of 
the  Weyonock  Indians"  by  which  all  their  hogs 
were  to  be  marked,  and  providing  penalties  for 
purchasing  any  not  properly  marked.^ 

The  Pas-pa-heghs.  This  tribe  lived  in  James 
City  and  Charles  City  counties,  and  in  their 
territory  Jamestown  was  located.  They  num- 
bered forty  warriors,  and  their  wer-6-ance  was 
Wo-chin-cho-punck.  Their  chief  town  was  at 
Sandy  Point,  on  the  James.  Wo-chin-cho-punck 
violently  resented  the  intrusion  of  the  English 
into  his  territories.  He  was  taken  prisoner  by 
Captain  Smith,  and  carried  to  Jamestown."^  He 
escaped,  and  was  finally  killed  by  the  English, 
on  February  9,  1610. 

'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  Il6.  *  Bu-rk,  vol.  Hi.,  p.  89. 

33  Hening,  109.  <  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  223. 


340  The  Forest  Primeval 

Captain  Smith  tells  us  that  he  kept  **the  king 
of  Pas-pa-hegh  in  shackles,  and  put  his  men  to 
double  tasks  in  chains,  till  nine  and  thirty  of 
their  kings  paid  us  contribution,  and  the  offend- 
ing savages  sent  to  Jamestown,  to  punish  at  our 
own  discretion:  in  the  two  years  I  stayed  there, 
I  had  not  a  man  slain."  ' 

The  king  of  this  tribe  had  certainly  good 
ground  for  his  opposition  to  the  Jamestown  set- 
tlement. We  are  told  of  those  who  held  Smith 
in  captivity:  "Much  they  threatened  to  assault 
our  fort,  as  they  were  solicited  by  the  king  of 
Pas-pa-hegh,  who  showed  at  our  fort  great  signs 
of  sorrow  for  this  mischance."  "" 

The  story  of  the  death  of  this  chief  is  thus 
told  us  by  Strachey: 

"Wo-chin-cho-punck,  wer-6-ance  of  Pas-pa- 
hegh,  on  whom  on  the  9th  of  February,  1610,  whilst 
he,  with  a  company  of  his  people,  was  attempting 
some  practice  upon  our  old  blockhouse  at  James- 
town, and  had  been  for  the  same  sulking  about 
there  some  two  or  three  days  and  nights.  Cap- 
tain George  Percy,  governor  of  the  town,  sent 
forth  Ensign  Powell  and  Ensign  Waller  to  make 
surprise  of  him,  if  they  could  possibly,  and  bring 
him  alive  into  the  town ;  but  they  not  finding  him 
at  any  such  advantage^  yet  loath  to  loose  him, 
or  let  him  escape  altogether,  set  upon  him  (he 
being  one  of  the  mightiest  and  strongest  savages 
that  Powhatan  had  under  him,  and  was  therefore 
one  of  his  champions,  and  one  who  had  killed 

»  Smith,  vol.  ii.,  p.  loo.  '  Smith's  True  Relation,  p.  28. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  341 

treacherously  many  of  our  men,  as  he  could  be- 
guile them,  or  as  he,  at  any  time  found  them  by 
chance  single  in  the  woods,  strayed  beyond  the 
command  of  the  blockhouse),  and  Powell  run- 
ning upon  him,  thrust  him  twice  through  the 
body  with  an  arming  sword';  howbeit,  his  people 
came  in  so  fast,  and  shot  their  arrows  so  thick, 
as  our  men  being  unarmed ""  (in  their  doublets^ 
and  hose*  only)  and  without  pieces,^  were  fain 
to  retire  whilst  the  Indians  recovered  the  wer-6- 
ance's  body,  and  carried  it  away,  with  a  mighty 
quickness  and  speed  of  foot,  and  with  a  horrible 
yell  and  howling;  howbeit,  the  lieutenant  of  the 
blockhouse,  one  Puttock,  followed  hard  and 
over-reached  one  of  the  cro-nock-o-es,  or  chief 
men,  and,  closing  with  him,  overthrew  him,  and, 
with  his  dagger,  sent  him  to  accompany  his 
master  in  the  other  world."  ^ 

The  Or-zi-nies.  This  tribe  dwelt  upon  the 
north  bank  of  the  Chickahominy.  The  name 
of  their  village  appears  on  the  map  as  0-ze-nick, 
in  James  City  County.  Their  wer-6-ance  was 
Kis-san-a-co-men.  They  were  of  an  independ- 
ent nature,  and  resented,  and  resisted,  the  pay- 
ment of  the  tribute  of  corn,  when  demanded  by 
Sir  George  Yeardley,  after  the  departure  of  Sir 
Thomas  Dale.'' 

The  Chick-a-hom-i-nys.     This  tribe  lived  on 

'  A  sword  made  especially  for  use  in  battle. 

'  Without  their  armor. 

3  An  outer  body-garment  worn  by  men. 

<  A  man's  garment  covering  the  legs  and  waist.  s  Firearms. 

*  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  59.  i  Stith,  p.  140. 


342  The  Forest  Primeval 

the  river  named  after  them  in  New  Kent  County. 
They  occupied  a  pecuhar  position  of  independ- 
ence. At  one  time  they  were  under  Powhatan's 
authority,  but  freed  themselves  from  it,  and 
made  treaties  with  the  EngHsh  on  their  own 
account,  containing  stipulations  for  their  pro- 
tection against  him.  They  are  described  as  a 
"dogged  nation,"  who  were  too  well  acquainted 
with  our  wants,  refusing  to  trade,  with  as  much 
scorn  and  insolency  as  they  could  express.  They 
had  over  three  hundred  warriors.' 

Their  chief  town  was  Or-a-pax.^ 

Stith  gives  us  this  account  of  this  tribe; 
writing  of  the  year  1614,  after  the  marriage 
of  Rolfe  and  Pocahontas: 

"The  Chick-a-hom-i-nies  were  a  stout,  daring 
and  free  people.  They  had  no  wer-6-ance,  or 
single  ruler,  but  were  governed,  in  a  republican 
form,  by  their  elders.  These  were  their  priests, 
and  some  of  the  wisest  of  their  old  men,  as 
assistants  to  them.  In  consequence  of  these 
principles  of  government,  they  took  all  oppor- 
tunities of  shaking  off  Powhatan's  yoke,  whom 
they  looked  upon  and  hated,  as  a  tyrant.  And, 
therefore,  they  had  taken  advantage  of  these  late 
times  of  hostility  and  danger  as  well  to  the  In- 
dians as  to  the  English,  to  assert  their  liberty. 
But  now,  seeing  Powhatan  so  closely  linked  with 
the  English,  both  in  affinity  and  friendship,  they 
were  In  great  concern  and  dread,  lest  he  should 

'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  Ii6,  193;  vol.  ii.,  pp.  16-17. 
*  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  343 

bring  them  again  to  his  subjection.  To  prevent 
which,  they  sent  ambassadors  to  Sir  Thomas 
Dale;  excusing  all  former  injuries,  and  promising 
ever  after  to  be  King  James's  faithful  subjects: 
That  they  would  relinquish  the  name  of  Chick-a- 
hom-i-nies,  and  be  called  Tas-san-tes-sus,  or 
Englishmen,  and  that  Sir  Thomas  Dale  should 
be  their  governor,  as  the  King's  deputy.  Only 
they  desired  to  be  governed  by  their  own  laws, 
under  their  eight  elders,  as  his  substitutes. 

"  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  hoping  for  some  advantage 
from  this,  willingly  accepted  their  offer.  At  the 
day  appointed,  with  Captain  Argall  and  fifty 
men,  he  went  to  Chick-a-hom-i-ny ;  where  he 
found  the  people  assembled,  expecting  his  com- 
ing. They  treated  him  kindly;  and  the  next 
morning,  having  held  a  council,  the  peace  was 
concluded  on  these  conditions: 

"That  they  should  forever  be  called  English- 
men, and  be  true  subjects  to  King  James  and  his 
deputies ; 

"That  they  should  neither  kill,  nor  detain, 
any  of  the  English,  or  of  their  cattle,  but  should 
bring  them  home; 

"That  they  should  be  always  ready,  to  fur- 
nish the  English  with  three  hundred  men,  against 
the  Spaniards,  or  any  other  enemy; 

"That  they  should  not  enter  any  of  the  Eng- 
lish towns,  before  sending  in  word,  that  they 
were  new  Englishmen ; 

"That  every  fighting  man,  at  gathering  their 
corn,  should  bring  two  bushels  to  the  store,  as 


344  The  Forest  Primeval 

a  tribute;  for  which  he  should  receive  as  many 
hatchets: 

"That  the  eight  chief  men  should  see  all  this 
performed,  or  receive  the  punishment  themselves ; 
and  for  their  diligence,  they  should  have  a  red 
coat,  a  copper  chain,  and  King  James's  picture 
and  be  accounted  his  nobleman. "  ' 

We  have  the  following  references  and  provi- 
sions in  regard  to  them  in  the  Acts  of  1660: 

"Upon  the  petition  of  Harquip  the  Mangoi 
of  the  Chickahomini  Indians  to  have  all  the  lands 
from  Mr.  Mallory's  bounds  to  the  head  of  Matta- 
poni  River  and  into  the  woods  to  the  Pamunkeys, 
it  is  accordingly  ordered  that  the  said  land  be 
confirmed  to  the  said  Indians  by  patent,  and  that 
no  Englishman  shall  upon  any  pretense  disturb 
them  in  their  said  bounds,  nor  purchase  it  of 
them  unless  the  major  part  of  the  great  men  shall 
freely  and  voluntarily  declare  their  consent  in 
the  quarter  court  or  assembly. 

"Whereas  a  certain  grant  hath  been  made  to 
the  Chickahomini  Indians  of  certain  lands  in 
which  tract  Major-General  Manwaring  Hamond 
claimeth  a  divident  ^  of  two  thousand  acres 
granted  him  by  patent,  it  is  ordered,  that  the 
said  Major-General  Hamond  be  desired  to  pur- 
chase the  same  of  the  Indians  or  to  procure  their 
consent,  for  the  preservation  of  the  country's 
honor  and  reputation."  ^ 

» Stith,  pp.  130,  131,  140,  149.       ^Dividend,  a  share  or  portion. 

J  A  case  of  conflicting  patents  in  which  the  English  claimant  is 
virtually  ordered  to  make  terms  with  the  Indians  in  a  manner  satis- 
factory to  them. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  345 

"Harqulp,  mangoi  of  the  Chickahomini  In- 
dians, in  behalf  of  himself  and  the  other  Indians 
the  fourth  day  of  April,  1661,  did  acknowledge 
before  the  grand  assembly  the  sale  of  a  parcel  of 
land  from  the  cliffs  to  the  little  creek  to  Mr. 
Philip  Mallory,  being  formerly  surveyed  by 
Lt.-Col.  Abrahall,  and  James  Cole,  containing 
seven  hundred  forty-three  acres  according  to 
a  survey  of  the  same  made  for  the  said  Mr. 
Mallory  by  George  Morris  the  twentieth  of  June 
last."  ' 

We  have  the  following  reference  to  them  in 
1662:  "Whereas  information  hath  been  made 
that  one  Edward  Dennis  hath,  without  title  or 
claim,  seated  himself  in  the  Indian  town  of 
Chickahomini;  it  is  therefore  ordered  that  the 
said  honorable  the  governor  be  pleased  to  send 
his  warrant  for  the  said  Dennis,  and  as  he  finds 
occasion  to  give  order  for  his  continuance  or 
removal. "  ' 

Members  of  this  tribe  still  survive.  As 
mentioned  in  the  account  of  the  Pamunkeys,  one 
of  the  women  met  there,  who  had  married  into 
that  tribe,  was  herself  spoken  of,  and  recognized 
as  being  originally  Chickahomini. 

The  Qui-yong-he-o-han-ocks,  also  called 
the  Tap-pa-han-nas.  They  lived  in  Surry  and 
Prince  George  counties,  and  claimed  sixty  war- 
riors. They  are  spoken  of  as  "a  small  nation  of 
Indians  seated  on  the  south  side  of  the  James, 
about  ten  miles  above  Jamestown. "     Their  chief 

'  2  Hening,  34,  35,  39.  2  /^^^^  161. 


346  The  Forest  Primeval 

was  Pe-pis-cu-mah,  also  called  Pe-pis-co.  "This 
good  king  did  ever  affect  the  English  above  all 
others;  and  although  he  was  very  zealous  to  his 
false  gods,  yet  he  confessed,  that  the  English 
God  as  much  exceeded  his,  as  their  guns  did  his 
bow  and  arrows;  and  in  time  of  drought  he  would 
often  send  presents  to  Captain  Smith,  to  pray  to 
his  god  for  rain."  ' 

The  chief  town  was  about  Upper  Chipoak 
Creek.  ^ 

There  is  a  romance  about  Pe-pis-co.  He  fell 
in  love  with,  and  stole  away  from  the  terrible 
0-pe-chan-ca-nough,  one  of  his  "chief  women." 
For  this  offense,  Powhatan  deposed  him  from 
being  wer-6-ance  of  this  tribe,  and  put  in  his 
place,  one  of  his  sons,  Tat-a-co-pe,  then  an  infant, 
with  his  mother  0-ho-lasc,  as  regent. 

Pe-pis-co  was  suffered  to  remain  in  the  coun- 
try, and  retained  a  little  village  upon  the  James, 
with  some  few  people  about  him.  He  lost  his 
kingdom,  but  he  kept  the  woman  he  loved. 
Strachey  tells  us  about  this  love  affair.  He  says 
he  made  her  "his  best  beloved,"  and  that  "she 
travels  with  him  upon  any  remove,  in  hunting 
time,  or  in  his  visitation  of  us,  by  which  means, 
twice  or  thrice  in  a  summer,  she  hath  come  unto 
our  town;  nor  is  so  handsome  a  savage  woman 
as  I  have  seen  amongst  them,  yet,  with  a  kind  of 
pride,  can  take  upon  her  a  show  of  greatness; 
for  we  have  seen  her  forbear  to  come  out  of  her 

'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  Ii6;  Stith,  p.  99. 
*  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  347 

quintan  or  boat  through  the  water,  as  the  others, 
both  maids  and  married  women,  usually  do, 
unless  she  were  carried  forth  between  two  of 
her  servants.  I  was  once  early  at  her  house  (it 
being  summer  time),  when  she  was  laid  without 
doors,  under  the  shadow  of  a  broad-leaved  tree, 
upon  a  pallet  of  osiers,'  spread  over  with  four  or 
five  gray  mats,  herself  covered  with  a  fair  white 
dressed  deer  skin  or  two;  and  when  she  rose,  she 
had  a  maid  who  fetched  her  a  frontal  ^  of  white 
coral  and  pendants  of  great  but  imperfect  colored 
and  worst  drilled  pearls,  which  she  put  into  her 
ears,  and  a  chain,  with  long  links  of  copper  w  hich 
they  call  Tap-o-an-tam-i-na-is,  and  which  came 
twice  or  thrice  about  her  neck,  and  they  account 
a  jolly ^  ornament;  and  sure  thus  attired  with 
some  variety  of  feathers  and  flowers  stuck  in  their 
hair  they  seem  as  debonaire,  quaint,  and  well 
pleased  as  (I  wist)  a  daughter  of  the  house  of 
Austria  behune"*  with  all  her  jewels;  likewise  her 
maid  fetched  her  a  mantel,  which  they  call  put- 
ta-wus,  which  is  like  a  side  cloak,  made  of  blue 
feathers,  so  artificially^  and  thick  sewed  together, 
that  it  seemed  like  a  deep  purple  satin,  and  is 
very  smooth  and  sleek;  and  after  she  brought  her 
water  for  her  hands,  and  then  a  branch  or  two 
of  fresh  green  asshen^  leaves,  as  for  a  towel  to 
dry  them.  '*  ^ 


'  Dried  willow  branches.  ^  An  ornament  for  the  forehead. 

3  Beautiful.  4  Bedecked. 

5  Alade  with  so  much  art  or  skill.  *  Ash. 

7  Strachey,  History  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  pp.  57-8. 


348  The  Forest  Primeval 

The  War-as-coy-acks.  These  hved  In  Isle  of 
Wight  County,  and  could  muster  sixty  fighting 
men.  Their  chief  was  Tac-kon-e-kin-ta-co. 
They  appear  frequently  in  the  early  history. 
Living  on  the  same  river,  and  between  James- 
town and  the  sea,  the  settlers  were  forever 
passing  by  their  territory.  The  king  of  this 
tribe  gave  Captain  Smith  kindly  warning  against 
Powhatan,  when  Smith  was  on  his  way  to  pay 
him  a  visit,  telling  him  that  Powhatan  meant  to 
kill  him. 

The  name  is  pronounced  War-ris-queek. 

The  following  account  of  an  incident  in  con- 
nection with  this  tribe  and  its  wer-6-ance  is 
preserved  by  Strachey: 

"Tac-kon-e-kin-ta-co,  an  old  wer-6-ance  of 
Warraskoyack,  whom  Captain  Newport  brought 
prisoner  with  his  son  Tangoit  about  1610,  to  our 
lord  general,'  lying  then  at  Point  Comfort,  and 
whom  again  his  lordship  released  upon  promises 
and  a  solemn  contract,  made  by  the  old  man,  to 
exchange  with  his  lordship,  after  he  should  have 
gathered  in  his  harvest.  In  August  following, 
five  hundred  bushels  of  wheat,  beans,  and  peas, 
for  copper,  beads,  and  hatchets;  and  for  the 
better  color  (carrying  away  his  son)  and  left  a 
nephew  (as  he  said)  of  his  with  his  lordship,  as  a 
pawn  or  hostage,  until  the  performance;  how- 
belt,  the  imposture  nephew,  privy  beforehand 
to  the  falsehood  of  the  old  man,  watching  his  op- 
portunity, leapt  overboard  one  night  (being  kept 

'  Lord  De  la  War. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  349 

in  the  Delawar^);  and  to  be  more  sure  of  him 
at  that  time,  fettered  both  legs  together,  and  put 
a  sea  gown^  upon  him,  yet  he  adventured  to  get 
clear  by  swimming,  and  either  to  recover  the 
south  shore,  or  to  sink  in  the  attempt.  Which 
of  either  was  his  fortune  we  know  not,  only  (if 
he  miscarried)  we  never  found  his  body  nor 
gown,  and  the  Indians  of  Warraskoyack  would 
oftentimes  afterward  mock  us,  and  call  to  us 
for  him,  and  at  length  make  a  great  laughter,  and 
tell  us  he  was  come  home;  how  true  or  false  is  no 
great  matter;  but  indeed  the  old  king,  after  that 
time,  refused  to  perform  the  former  bargain, 
for  which  his  lordship,  to  give  them  to  under- 
stand how  he  would  not  be  so  dealt  withal,  sent 
forth  two  companies,  those  of  his  lordship's 
own  company,  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Brewster,  and  some  seamen,  under  Captain 
Argall,  who  fell  upon  two  towns  of  his,  and 
burnt  them  to  the  ground,  with  all  their  goodly 
furniture  of  mats  and  dishes,  wooden  pots  and 
platters,  for  of  this  sort  is  all  their  goodly  epi- 
trapezia^  or  vessels  belonging  to  their  use  for  the 
table,  or  what  else."^ 

In  1623,  the  tribe  was  attacked  for  the  partici- 
pation it  had  taken  in  the  massacre  of  1622.^ 
And  later,  a  fort,  or  "castle,"  was  built  by  the 
English  within  its  borders.^ 

'  The  ship  named  after  Lord  De  la  War. 

^  A  skirted  garment  or  wrapper  meant  to  be  worn  at  sea. 

3  Things  put  upon  the  table. 

'•  Strachey,  History  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  pp.  58-9. 

s  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  116,  180.  ^  Stith,  pp.  303,  322. 


350  The  Forest  Primeval 

The  tribe  gave  its  name  to  one  of  the  origi- 
nal eight  counties  into  which  the  colony  was 
divided. 

The  principal  village  of  this  tribe  was  War-as- 
coy-ack/  This  was  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Smithfield. 

The  Nan-se-monds.  This  was  a  large  tribe, 
living  in  the  county  named  for  them.  They 
had  two  hundred  warriors,  and  four  wer-6-ances, 
Wey-ho-ho-mo,  Am-e-pet-ough,  Wey-on-gop-o, 
and  Tirch-tough.^ 

The  following  Incident  Is  told  of  them.  In 
order  to  keep  things  quiet  at  Jamestown,  Cap- 
tain Smith  sent  one  Martin  off  to  make  a  settle- 
ment at  Nan-se-mond.  "That  nation,  having 
been  reduced  to  subjection  and  contribution 
used  him  kindly;  yet  such  was  his  unreasonable 
jealousy^  and  fear,  that  he  surprised^  the  poor 
naked  king,  and  his  monuments^  and  houses, 
with  the  island,  wherein  he  lived,  and  there 
fortified  himself.  But  the  Indians  soon  perceiv- 
ing his  fear  and  distraction,  ventured  to  assault 
him;  and  they  killed  several  of  his  men,  released 
their  king,  and  gathered  and  carried  off  a 
thousand  bushels  of  corn;  whilst  he.  In  the  mean- 
time, never  once  offered  to  Intercept  them  but 
sent  to  the  President,^  then  at  the   Falls,'  for 

'  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89. 

'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  116;  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  59. 
3  Distrust  of  the  Indians.  "  Attacked  without  warning, 

s  The  houses  in  which  were  deposited  the  embalmed  remains  of 
the  Indian  kings. 

«  Captain  Smith.  "^  The  falls  of  the  James. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  351 

thirty  soldiers.  These  were  presently  sent  him 
from  Jamestown.'" 

Their  chief  town  was  Nan-se-mond,  situated 
on  the  river  of  that  name,  about  the  mouth  of 
West  Branch/ 

In  18 16,  new  trustees  were  appointed  for  the 
Nansemonds.  These  were  empowered  to  make 
reasonable  rules  and  regulations  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  tribe  and  the  expenditure  of  the 
money  held  in  trust  for  them.  This  was  to 
continue  so  long  as  the  tribe  had  any  members 
still  living.  Any  funds  remaining  were  to  be 
paid  into  the  public  treasury.^ 

The  Ches-a-peaks.  This  tribe  live  in  Norfolk 
and  Princess  Anne  Counties,  and  according  to 
Smith,  in  his  day,  numbered  one  hundred 
warriors.^ 

The  tribe  took  its  name,  which  means  The 
Mother  of  Waters,  from  the  bay  and  river  which 
bordered  its  territories.  The  bay  has  kept  its 
original  name,  but  the  Chesapeake  River  is  now 
called  the  Elizabeth.^ 

Lane,  who  visited  this  tribe  In  1585,  said  that 
"the  territory  and  soil  of  the  Ches-e-pe-ans 
(being  distant  fifteen  miles  from  the  shore),  for 
pleasantness  of  seat,  for  temperature  of  climate, 
for  fertility  of  soil,  and  for  the  commodity  of  the 
sea,  besides  multitudes  of  bears  (being  an  excel- 
lent good  victual),  and  great  woods  of  sassa- 

'  Stith,  p.  104.  '  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89. 

3  Acts  1816-17,  p.  174.  -»  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  116. 

s  Stith,  pp.  13,  73. 


352  The  Poorest  Primeval 

fras  and  walnut  trees,  are  not  to  be  excelled  by 
any  other  whatsoever. " 

The  names  of  three  of  the  towns  of  this  tribe 
are  known  to  us:  Ap-a-sus,  situated  on  the  west- 
ern side  of  the  mouth  of  the  Lynnhaven  River; 
Ches-a-pi-ooc,  on  the  western  bank  of  that 
stream  something  more  than  half  way  to  its 
source,  and  Ski-co-ak,  situated  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  Elizabeth  River,  on  the  site  of  the 
City  of  Norfolk.  All  were  palisadoed  as  they 
appear  on  White  and  de  Bry's  map  made  in 
connection  with  the  Roanoke  Island  settlement. 

Ski-co-ak  is  mentioned  in  the  earliest  of  all 
the  accounts.  Captain  Barlow,  in  his  report  to 
Raleigh  of  the  voyage  made  in  1584,  says,  meas- 
uring from  Pom-e-i-ock:  '*Six  days'  journey 
from  the  same  is  situated  their  [the  Indians'] 
greatest  city,  called  Ski-co-ak,  which  this  people 
[those  of  Roanoke  Island]  affirm  to  be  very 
great;  but  the  savages  were  never  at  it,  only 
they  speak  of  it  by  the  report  of  their  fathers  and 
other  men,  whom  they  have  heard  affirm  it  to 
be  above  one  hour's  journey  about  it." 

Lane  also  in  speaking  of  this  region  said  that 
the  place  of  greatest  strength  of  the  king  who 
ruled  here  was  "an  island,  situate  in  a  bay,  the 
water  round  about  the  island  very  deep." 
From  the  geography  of  this  region  it  would  ap- 
pear that  this  must  refer  to  the  same  place. 

A  great  Indian  town  therefore  once  existed 
here,  but  the  later  writers.  Smith  stating  the 
military    strength    of   this    tribe    at    only    one 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  353 

hundred,  and  Burk/  saying  that  the  principal 
town  of  this  tribe  was  about  Lynnhaven,  which 
would  make  it  either  Ap-a-sus  or  Ches-a-pi-ooc 
instead  of  Ski-co-ak,  are  explained  by  a  state- 
ment in  Strachey.""  He  tells  us  of  the  prophecy, 
already  mentioned,  made  by  the  Indian  priests 
to  Powhatan,  that  from  the  east,  through  the 
Chesapeake  Bay,  a  people  would  arise  which 
would  destroy  his  empire.  He  therefore,  among 
others,  waged  war  upon  and  destroyed  the  Chesa- 
peaks,  fearful  of  everything  and  everybody  in 
that  region. 

Ski-co-ak,  no  doubt,  at  this  time  fell  and  its 
greatness  vanished.  In  Strachey's  time,  he 
says,  that  the  Indians  who  then  occupied  this 
territory  were  "new  inhabitants,"  Powhatan 
having  peopled  the  conquered  territory  with 
those  on  whom  he  could  rely. 

The  Ke-cough-tans.  These  Indians  lived  in 
Elizabeth  City  County,  their  chief  town  being 
Ros-cows  at,  or  near,  Hampton.  They  had  once 
been  a  large  and  powerful  tribe,  but  had  been 
reduced  by  war  to  twenty.^ 

Strachey  gives  us  this  account  of  the  land  of 
the  Ke-cough-tans,  which.  Including  as  it  does 
Hampton  and  Old  Point  Comfort,  is  of  more  than 
ordinary  importance: 

"Po-chlns,  one  of  Powhatan's  sons  at  Ke- 
cough-tan,  was  the  young  wer-6-ance  there  at  the 

'  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89. 

*  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  105. 

3  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  116;  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89., 

83 


354  The  Forest  Primeval 

same  time  when  Sir  Thomas  Gates,  heutenant- 
general,  took  possession  of  it.  It  is  an  ample  and 
fair  country  indeed,  an  admirable  portion  of 
land,  comparatively  high,  wholesome,  and  fruit- 
ful; the  seat  sometimes  of  a  thousand  Indians 
and  three  hundred  Indian  houses,  and  those 
Indians,  as  it  may  well  appear,  better  husbands' 
than  in  any  part  else  that  we  have  observed, 
which  is  the  reason  that  so  much  ground  is  there 
cleared  and  opened,  enough,  with  little  labor 
already  prepared,  to  receive  corn,  or  make  vine- 
yards of  two  or  three  thousand  acres:  and  where, 
beside,  we  find  many  fruit-trees,  a  kind  of  goose- 
berry, cherries,  and  other  plums,  the  maricock,"* 
apple,  and  many  pretty  copsies  or  boskes  (as 
it  were)  of  mulberry  trees,  and  is  (indeed)  a 
delicate  and  necessary  seat  for  a  city  or  chief 
fortification,  being  so  near  (within  three  miles 
by  water)  the  mouth  of  our  bay,  and  is  well 
appointed  a  fit  seat  for  one  of  our  chief  com- 
manders. 

"Upon  the  death  of  an  old  wer-6-ance  of  this 
place,  some  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  since  (being 
too  powerful  neighbors  to  side^  the  great  Pow- 
hatan), it  is  said  Powhatan,  taking  the  advan- 
tage, subtly  stepped  in  and  conquered  the 
people,  killing  the  chief  and  most  of  them,  and 
the  reserved  he  transported  over  the  river, 
craftily  changing  their  seat  and  quartering  them 

'  Husbandmen. 

2  The  maracock  is  the  passion-flower.  The  fruit  is  of  the  size 
and  color  of  a  pomegranate.  3  To  be  by  the  side  of. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  3v55 

amongst  his  own  people,  until  now  at  length  the 
remainder  of  those  living  have  with  much  suit 
obtained  of  him  Pa-yan-ka-tanck,  which  he  not 
long  since  (as  you  have  heard  likewise)  dispeopled. 
They  might  have  made  of  able  men  for  the  wars, 
thirty.'" 

On  the  York,  the  former  "River  of  Pamun- 
key,"  were  the  following: 

The  Wer-o-wo-co-mo-cos.  Thus  were  called 
those  living  at  this  place,  which  is  the  best  known 
Indian  settlement  in  Virginia,  being  "the  chief 
place  of  council,"  and  Powhatan's  favorite 
residence.  It  was  in  Gloucester  County,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  York,  and  is  thus  spoken  of  by 
Smith:  "About  twenty-five  miles  lower  on  the 
north  side  of  this  river  is  Wer-o-wo-co-mo-co, 
where  their  great  king  inhabited  when  I  was 
delivered  him  prisoner;  yet  there  are  not  past 
forty  able  men."^  Smith  is  here  not  narrating 
his  captivity,  but  the  tribes  in  Virginia. 

The  principal  town  of  this  tribe  was  Wer-o- 
wo-co-mo-co,  near  Rosewell.^ 

The  Kis-ki-acks.  This  tribe  lived  on  the 
south  side  of  the  York,  nearly  opposite  Wer-o-wo- 
co-mo-co.  They  numbered  forty  or  fifty  men. 
Their  wer-6-ance  was  Ot-ta-ho-tin.  This  place 
was  one  of  Powhatan's  strongholds."^  The  name 
of  this  tribe  was  afterwards  corrupted  by  the 


'  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  60. 

'Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  117. 

3  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89.  ^  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  117,  206. 


356  The  Forest  Primeval 

English  into  Cheesecake,  and  so  appears  in  the 
acts  of  the  Grand  Assembly/ 

Their  principal  town  was  Kis-ki-ack,  in  York 
County/ 

We  have  the  following  references  to  them  in 
the  early  acts: 

"Considering  the  great  use  and  benefit  the 
country  may  enjoy  from  the  Chess-koi-ack 
Indians  being  kindly  used  by  us,  and  being 
sensible  that  with  the  few  guns  they  have  amongst 
them  they  cannot  prejudice  us  being  a  small, 
inconsiderable  nation,  it  is  ordered  by  the 
present  Grand  Assembly  to  show  other  Indians 
how  kind  we  are  to  such  who  are  obedient  to  our 
laws  that  the  said  Chis-koi-ack  Indians  quietly 
hold  and  enjoy  the  land  they  are  now  seated  upon, 
and  have  the  free  use  of  the  guns  they  now  have, 
any  act  or  order  of  assembly  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding. " 

"Whereas,  by  the  report  of  Lieutenant-Colonel 
John  Walker,  who  was  appointed  by  the  honor- 
able Governor  to  enquire  thereinto,  it  appears 
that  Mrs.  Mary  Ludlow,  relict  and  executrix  of 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Thomas  Ludlow,  deceased, 
entrencheth  upon  the  Ches-qui-ack  Indians'  land 
at  Py-an-ka-tanck.  It  is  ordered  by  the  As- 
sembly that  the  said  Indians  enjoy  their  whole 
tract  of  land  according  to  the  said  survey  and 
that  the  said  Ludlows'  heirs  enjoy  the  remainder 
of  their  patent,  and  further  order  that  no  other 
person  enjoying  or  being  seated  on  any  part  of 

'  Stith,  p.  53.  '  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  357 

the  said  Indians'  lands  possess  the  same  but  to  be 
with  all  convenient  speed  removed,  and  the  com- 
missioners appointed  by  the  right  honorable 
Governor  to  enquire  into  and  settle  all  differences 
and  disputes  concerningthe  said  Indians'  lands. "' 

The  following  eleven  tribes  are  mentioned  by 
Strachey  as  also  being  upon  the  Pamunkey,  by 
which  he  meant  the  York  and  its  branches: 

The  Can-taun-kacks,  one  hundred  warriors, 
the  chief,  0-hon-na-mo. 

The  Mum-map-a-cu-nes,  one  hundred,  their 
wer-6-ance  being  Ot-ton-de-a-com-moc. 

The  Pa-ta-uncks,  one  hundred;  wer-6-ance, 
Es-sen-a-taugh. 

The  Och-a-han-nankes,  forty,  with  the  chief 
U-rop-a-ack. 

The  Cas-sa-pe-cocks,  one  hundred,  with  the 
chief  Keig-hang-ton. 

The  Ka-pos-e-cocks,  four  hundred,  with  the 
wer-6-ance  Wey-a-mat. 

The  Pam-a-rekes,  four  hundred;  wer-6-ance, 
At-tas-quin-tan. 

The  Sham-a-pas,  one  hundred,  with  the 
wer-6-ance  Nan-su-a-punck. 

The  Or-a-paks,  fifty;  Powhatan  himself  being 
the  wer-6-ance. 

The  Chep-e-cho,  three  hundred  with  their 
wer-6-ance  0-pop-oh-cum-unck. 

The  Par-a-co-nos,  ten ;  having  only  a  Taux- 
wer-6-ance,^  At-tos-so-munck. 


'2  Hening,  39,  153. 

•That  is  a  little,  subordinate,  or  vice-wer-6-ance. 


358  The  Forest  Primeval 

As  being  in  command  of  these  tribes  and  three 
others  which  are  hkewise  included  in  our  list, 
Strachey  names  0-pe-chan-ca-nough,  Ke-quo- 
taugh,  and  Taugh-ha-i-ten,  all  three  Powhatan's 
brethren,  who  he  says  are  the  triumviri,  as  it 
were,  or  three  kings  of  a  country  called  0-pe- 
chan-e-ke-no,  upon  the  headofPamunkey  River, 
and  these  may  make  three  hundred  men.' 

It  is  interesting  to  learn  from  this,  that  0-pe- 
chan-ca-nough's  name  was,  like  his  brother 
Powhatan's,  derived  from  that  of  a  place.  It 
was  a  territorial  name,  similar  to  that  often 
borne  by  the  nobles  of  other  countries. 

On  the  Pa-yan-ka-tank  River  lived  a  tribe  of 
that  name,  which  numbered  about  fifty  or  sixty 
serviceable  men.  They  lived  on  the  north  side 
of  the  stream,  near  its  mouth  in  Middlesex 
County.^  Their  principal  town  was  at  Turk's 
ferry.  ^ 

The  Pa-yan-ka-tanks,  who  numbered  forty  to 
fifty  when  Strachey,  that  observant  first  secre- 
tary of  the  colony,  wrote  his  account  of  his 
travels,  are  said  by  him  to  be  the  remains  of  the 
conquered  Ke-cough-tans,  transported  there  by 
Powhatan.  The  original  Pa-yan-ka-tanks  were 
destroyed,  or  reduced  to  slavery  by  Powhatan 
in  1608.  They  were  then  his  neighbors  and  sub- 
jects. We  have  a  brief  account  of  this  tragedy: 
"The   occasion  was   to   us   unknown;   but   the 

»  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  62. 

*  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  117,  160.  •J  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  359 

manner  was  thus  performed.  First,  he  sent 
divers  of  his  men  to  lodge  amongst  them  one 
night,  pretending  a  general  hunt,  who  were 
to  give  the  allarum'  unto  an  ambuscado^  of  a 
greater  company  within  the  woods,  who,  upon 
the  sign  given  at  the  hour  appointed,  environed 
all  the  houses,  and  fell  to  the  execution.  Twenty- 
four  men  they  killed  outright  (the  rest  escaping 
by  fortune  and  their  swift  footmanship) ;  and 
the  long  hair  of  the  one  side  of  their  heads,  with 
the  skin  cased  off  with  shells  or  reeds,  they 
brought  away  to  Powhatan.  They  surprised 
also  the  women  and  children  and  the  wer-6-ance, 
all  whom  they  presented  to  Powhatan.  The 
locks  of  hair,  with  their  skins,  they  hanged  on 
a  line  between  two  trees;  and  of  these  Powhatan 
made  ostentation,  as  of  a  great  triumph,  at 
Wer-o-wo-co-mo-co,  not  long  after,  showing 
them  to  such  of  the  English  as  came  unto  him 
at  his  appointment,  to  trade  with  him  for  corn, 
thinking  to  have  terrified  them  with  this  spec- 
tacle."^ 

On  the  Rappahannock  more  Indians  lived 
than  on  any  of  the  other  rivers.  The  north  side 
of  this  fine  stream  was  covered  with  their 
villages.     Among  these  tribes  were: 

The  Cut-tat-a-wo-men.  These  lived  on  the 
north  side  of  the  river,  in  Lancaster  County 
near  the  Chesapeake  Bay.     Here  they  had  one 

•  Signal.  '  Ambuscade. 

J  Strachey,  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  36. 


36o  The  Forest  Primeval 

branch  of  their  tribe,  with  thirty  fighting  men, 
and  another,  much  farther  up  the  river,  in  King 
George  County,  of  twenty.  Their  king  was 
kindly  disposed  towards  the  English.' 

Their  principal  town  In  King  George  was 
about  Lamb  Creek,  and  that  in  Lancaster,  at 
Corotoman.^ 

The  Rap-a-han-ocks.  These  were  frequently 
called  Top-pa-han-ocks.  They  also  lived  on  the 
north  side  of  the  river  named  from  them,  and 
could  count  one  hundred  men.^ 

They  are  mentioned  in  the  acts  In  the  year 
1662,  and  were  thus  protected  in  regard  to 
holding  their  tribal  lands: 

'*It  is  ordered  by  this  present  assembly  upon 
the  report  of  the  committee  for  the  Indian  affairs, 
that  Colonel  Moore  Ffantleroy  enjoy  at  present 
no  more  of  the  land  he  is  now  seated  upon  than 
what  Is  cleared  with  the  houses  built  upon  and 
marsh  lying  before  it,  and  that  he  pay  to  the 
King  of  Rappahannock  Indians  fifteen  match- 
coats  before  he  depart  the  town  in  part  of  thirty 
due  per  a  former  agreement,  and  the  other  fif- 
teen when  the  differences  between  him  and  the 
said  Indians  shall  be  ended  by  the  commissioners 
to  be  appointed  by  the  right  honorable  Governor, 
provided  they  allow  him  five  hundred  acres  of 
high  land  ground  belonging  to  his  said  dlvident,'^ 
Provided    if  the   said    commissioners   shall   not 


*  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  117,  185.  "  Burk,  vol.  iii., 

3  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  117,  184-5. 

4  Dividend,  that  is,  share  of  land  due  him. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  361 

determine  the  same  then  to  be  referred  to  the 
next  assembly,  and  all  other  claims  of  the  said 
Ffantleroy's  to  any  other  land  of  the  said  Indians 
are  hereby  declared  void."' 

Their  principal  town  was  on  Rappahannock 
Creek,  in  Richmond  County/ 

The  Nan-taugh-ta-cunds.  These  were  also 
called  Nand-tangh-ta-cunds.  They  lived  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river,  in  Caroline  and  Essex 
counties,  and  boasted  one  hundred  and  fifty 
men.     Their  king  was  friendly  to  the  English.^ 

Their  chief  town  was  at  Port  Tobacco  Creek. "^ 

The  Mo-raugh-ta-cunds.  These  were  also 
called  the  Mo-raugh-ta-ow-nas.  They  lived 
upon  the  north  side  of  the  Rappahannock,  in 
Lancaster  and  Richmond  counties,  and  had  a 
fighting  force  of  eighty  men.^  Their  principal 
town  was  on  Moratico  River.^ 

The  Pis-sa-secks.  This  tribe  dwelt  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Rappahannock,  in  King  George 
and  Richmond  counties.  It  is  mentioned  as 
having  a  king  kindly  disposed  towards  the 
English.^ 

Their  chief  town  was  above  Leeds  town.^ 

The  Do-egs.  This  tribe  dwelt  in  Stafford 
County,  not  far  from  the  site  of  Fredericksburg, 
on  the  north  side  of  the  Rappahannock.  They 
are  mentioned  in  connection  with  stealing  the 


'  5  Hening,  152.  *  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89. 

3Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  117,  160,  185.  ■*  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89. 

5  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  117,  184.  *  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89. 

7  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  185.  ^  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89. 


362  The  Forest  Primeval 

hogs  of  the  early  settlers  at  Jamestown,  and  later, 
in  the  acts  of  Assembly,  as  committing  many 
murders  of  the  English.' 

On  the  Potomac  lived  several  tribes,  of  whom 
we  can  name: 

The  Wigh-co-com-o-cos,  who  lived  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river,  near  its  entrance  into 
Chesapeake  Bay.  They  numbered  one  hundred 
and  thirty  men/ 

Their  principal  town  was  on  Wi-co-com-i-co 
River,  in  Northumberland  County.^ 

They  were  celebrated  for  being  very  small  in 
size/ 

The  Cek-a-ca-wons.  This  tribe  lived  on  the 
same  side,  as  the  above,  a  little  farther  up  the 
river/ 

Their  principal  town  was  on  the  Coan  River/ 

The  Nom-i-nies.  This  tribe  lived  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river,  in  Westmoreland  County. 
A  creek  and  cliffs  fronting  on  the  Potomac  are 
named  for  them/ 

The  0-naw-man-i-ents.  This  was  a  tribe  of 
one  hundred  living  on  this  river/ 

Their  principal  town  was  on  Nomini  River,  in 
Westmoreland  County/ 

The  Pa-taw-o-mekes.  These  gave  their  name 
finally  to  the  whole  river,  which  was  at  first 

'  2  Hening,  193.  ="  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  118;  i  Hening,  515. 

3  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89.  ^  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  129. 

5  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  118.  *  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89. 

7  Stith,  p.  53.  8  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  118,  160. 

9  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  363 

known  as  the  Co-hon-go-roo-ta,  at  least  from 
its  junction  with  the  Shenandoah,  eastward 
to  the  Chesapeake  Bay.  They  hved  some 
distance  up  the  stream,  on  the  west  side,  in 
Stafford  County.  They  numbered  two  hundred. 
Their  wer-6-ance  was  Jap-a-zows,  the  one  who 
helped  to  kidnap  Pocahontas,  when  Argall  cap- 
tured her.  He  is  described  as  being  an  old  friend 
of  Smith,  and  so  a  friend  of  the  whole  English 
nation,  ever  since  the  first  discovery  of  the 
country.' 

Their  principal  town  was  on  Potomac  Creek, 
in  Stafford  County.- 

In  1662,  the  King  of  the  Potomacs  was  Wa- 
han-gan-o-che.  He  was  tried  before  the  Grand 
Assembly  on  a  charge  of  high  treason  and  murder 
and  acquitted.^ 

The  sale  of  several  parts  of  their  tribal  lands 
is  thus  recorded: 

"Whereas  Wa-han-gan-o-che,  king  of  the  Po- 
tow-meck  Indians,  acknowledged  before  the 
committee  appointed  for  the  Indian  business, 
the  sale  of  that  whole  tract  of  land  possest  by 
Mr.  Henry  Mees  in  Potowmeck  according  to  the 
bounds  and  marked  trees  which  he  confest 
were  marked  in  his  presence  and  with  his  con- 
sent, it  is  ordered  by  the  assembly  that  the  said 
Mees  enjoy  the  said  land  to  him  and  his  heirs 
for  ever. 

"Whereas     Wa-han-gan-o-che,  king    of    the 

'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  Ii8,  177;  Stith,  p.  127. 

^  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89.  *  2  Hening,  149. 


364  The  Forest  Primeval 

Potowmeck  Indians,  acknowledged  before  the 
committee  for  the  Indians'  business  that  he  sold 
a  parcell  of  land  to  Mr.  Peter  Austin,  and  hath 
received  for  the  same  ten  matchcoats,  and  also 
promised  to  lay  out  the  said  Austin's  land  with 
marked  trees,  it  is  ordered  by  the  assembly 
that  the  same  being  accordingly  bounded,  Mr. 
Austin  enjoy  the  same  to  him  and  his  heirs 
for  ever. 

"Upon  the  report  of  the  committee  appointed 
for  settling  the  Indian  business,  it  is  ordered  by 
the  assembly  that  all  differences  of  land  between 
colonell  Gerrard  Fowke  and  Wa-han-gan-o-che, 
king  of  the  Potowmeck  Indians,  be  referred  to 
such  persons  as  the  governour  shall  commission- 
ate  therein  who  are  fully  to  end  and  determine 
the  same. 

"It  is  ordered  by  the  assembly  upon  the  report 
of  the  committee  for  the  Indian  businesses  that 
all  the  differences  of  land  between  captain  Giles 
Brent  and  Wa-han-gan-o-che,  king  of  the  Potow- 
meck Indians,  be  referred  to  the  determination 
of  such  commissioners  whom  the  honourable 
governour  shall  appoint  therein."' 

It  would  appear  that  this  king  had  further 
trouble  with  the  English,  for  we  find,  in  1665. 
that  a  part  of  the  money  with  which  a  fort  was 
to  be  built,  was  to  be  paid  for  by  a  levy  of  eighty 
thousand  pounds  of  tobacco,  "besides  the  sale 
of  the  king  of  Potomacks  land. "  It  would  seem 
from  this  that  his  land  was  confiscated  for  the 

'  2  Hening,  154,  205. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  365 

use  of  the  pubhc.  As  the  trained  bands  of 
James  City  and  Surry  counties  were  to  contri- 
bute six  days'  work  towards  the  perfecting  the 
fort,  it  is  probable  that  it  was  to  be  buih  not 
far  from  the  capital.' 

The  Taux-en-ents.  This  tribe  lived  on  the 
western  side  of  the  Potomac,  in  Fairfax  County. 
They  numbered  forty  men.  Their  chief  was 
Na-men-a-cus.^ 

Their  principal  town  was  at,  or  near  Mount 
Vernon,  General  Washington's  home.^ 

The  Moy-a-ons.  This  tribe  lived  on  the  east- 
ern side  of  the  Potomac,  in  Prince  George's 
County,  Maryland.  They  are  represented  as 
friendly  to  the  English."^ 

The  Sec-o-wo-com-o-cos.  This  tribe  lived  on 
the  north  side  of  the  Potomac,  and  had  forty 
warriors.^ 

We  also  hear  of  the  Po-tap-a-cos,  with  twenty 
men;  the  Pam-a-ca-e-acks,  with  sixty;  and  the 
Moy-o-wance,  with  one  hundred. 

The  No-cotch-tanks,  with  eighty,  are  also 
mentioned  as  living  on  this  river.^ 

On  the  Patuxent  River  lived  the  following: 
The  Paw-tux-ents.     This  tribe  lived  upon  the 
east  side  of  the  river  to  which  they  gave  the 
name,    in    Calvert    County,    Maryland.     Their 
King  was  Na-men-a-cus.' 

I  2  Hening,  220.  '  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  118;  vol.  ii.,  p.  61. 

3  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89.  ■<  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  177. 

s  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  118.  ^  Smith,  vol.,  i.,  p.  118. 

">  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  118,  148,  183;  vol.  ii.,  p.  61. 


366  The  Forest  Primeval 

The  Ac-quin-ta-nack-su-aks.  This  tribe,  with 
the  one  above,  and  the  next,  is  merely  mentioned 
as  living  on  this  river. 

The  Mat-ta-pan-i-ents.  It  is  said  of  these 
three,  that  they  could  only  muster  two  hundred 
and  that  "they  inhabit  together,  and  are  not  so 
dispersed  as  the  rest.  These  of  all  others  we 
found  most  civil  to  give  entertainment."' 

On  the  Eastern  Shore,  the  tribes  which  were 
possibly  under  Powhatan's  dominion  were: 

The  0-zi-nies.  This  tribe  lived  in  Queen 
Anne  County,  Maryland.^ 

The  Kus-kar-a-wa-ocks.  This  tribe  lived  in 
Dorchester  County,  Maryland,  on  the  river  of 
that  name,  also  called  the  Kus,  and  now,  the 
Nan-ti-coke.     They  numbered  two  hundred.^ 

By  some,  this  tribe  is  given  greater  importance 
than  this  statement  would  imply.  One  map, 
which  the  writer  has  seen,  gives  their  name  to  all 
the  region  now  known  as  the  Eastern  Shore  of 
Maryland,  and  a  large  part  of  Delaware,  as  if 
they  were  an  independent  confederacy. 

The  Tants  Wigh-co-com-i-cos.  This  tribe 
lived  in  Worcester  County,  Maryland,  on  the 
Po-co-moke,  or  Wigh-co  River. 

Smith  says  of  these  two  tribes:  "The  people 
of  those  rivers  are  of  little  stature,  of  another 
language  from  the  rest,  and  very  rude. "  "^ 

The  Gin-gas-kins.     We  know  nothing  of  this 

'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  Il8.  *  Ihid.,  p.  120. 

i  Ibid.,  p.  120.  ^Ibid.,  p.  120. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  367 

tribe  except  that  in  1813,  the  tribal  holding  of 
lands  by  the  Gin-gas-kin  Indians,  in  the  county  of 
Northampton,  was  done  away  with,  and  an 
equitable  division  of  the  lands  was  made  to  the 
members  of  t-he  tribe,  to  be  held  by  them  sepa- 
rately, in  fee  simple.  These  lands  were  to  be 
free  from  taxes  so  long  as  they  should  be  held 
by  the  members  of  the  tribe  or  their  descendants. 

The  Ac-co-han-ocks.  This  tribe  lived  just 
about  on  the  boundary  line  of  Accomac  and 
Northampton  counties,  on  the  Bay  side.  They 
numbered  forty  men.  Their  king  was  Kep-to- 
peke.' 

Their  principal  town  was  on  the  Ac-co-hon-noc 
River.^ 

The  Ac-cow-macks.  This  tribe  lived  nearly  a  t 
the  south  end  of  Northampton  County.  They 
numbered  eighty  warriors.  Captain  Smith  said 
of  the  wer-6-ance  of  this  tribe:  "This  king  was 
the  comeliest,  proper,  civil  savage  we  encount- 
ered. "  He  is  elsewhere  spoken  of  as  the  "laugh- 
ing king."  He  says,  in  general,  of  this  tribe, 
that  it  "doth  equalize  any  of  the  territories  of 
Powhatan,  and  speak  his  language."  The  soil 
is  also  praised,  and  the  good  harbors  for  small 
vessels.  On  the  whole,  we  are  informed  that 
this  was  one  of  the  very  best  of  the  tribes.^ 

Their  chief  town  was  about  Cherton's,  in 
Northampton  County."* 

'  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  120;  vol.  ii.,  p.  61. 

*  Burk,vol.iii.,p.89.    This  river  is  now  called  Occohannock  Creek. 
3  Smith,  vol.  i.,  pp.  120,  173;  vol.  ii.,  p.  63. 

*  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89. 


368  The  Forest  Primeval 

We  have  the  following  reference  to  them  in 
the  acts  of  1660: 

"Whereas  the  Indians  of  Accomack  have 
complained  that  they  are  very  much  strait- 
ened for  want  of  land,  and  that  the  English  seat 
so  near  them,  that  they  receive  very  much 
damage  in  their  corn.  It  is  ordered  that  the 
right  honorable  the  governor  give  commission 
to  two  or  three  gentlemen  with  a  surveyor  living 
on  this  side  the  bay  (that  have  no  relation  to 
Accomack),  to  go  over  thither,  and  lay  out  such 
a  proportion  of  land  for  the  said  Indians  as  shall 
be  sufficient  for  their  maintenance  with  hunting 
and  fishing  excluded.  And  that  the  land  so 
laid  out  to  be  so  secured  to  the  Indians  that  they 
may  have  no  power  to  alienate  it,  or  any  part  of 
it  hereafter  to  the  English."' 

We  have  attempted,  not  without  difficulty,  to 
enumerate  the  many  tribes  which  were  under 
Powhatan's  rule.  We  are  by  no  means  satisfied 
that  there  are  not  mistakes  in  the  above  list;  we 
may  both  have  inserted  tribes  which  do  not  belong 
there,  and  omitted  others  which  do.  The  sources 
of  information  on  the  subject  are  none  too  clear. 

It  will  be  observed  that  some  of  these  tribes 
bore  the  names  now  given  to  the  rivers  in  the 
State.  A  few  of  our  Indian  names  of  rivers  are 
due,  no  doubt,  to  the  fact  that  they  were  so  called, 
not  because  such  or  such  an  Indian  word  would 
\/    be   a  good  name  to  apply  to  such    or  such   a 

'  2  Hening,  13. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  369 

stream,  but  the  Meherrin  River  was  the  Meher- 
rin  River,  because  the  Meherrin  Indians  Hved 
upon  that  river,  and  so  on.  Conversely,  the 
rivers,  which  were,  of  course,  much  older  than 
the  tribes,  and  which  had  been  named  by  them, 
gave  their  names  to  many  of  the  tribes  living  on 
them,  among  these  clearly  are  the  Potomacs, 
the  Rappahanocks,  the  Chesapeaks,  the  Patux- 
ents,  the  Chickahominys,  the  Appomattox,  and 
so  on.  Captain  Smith,  himself,  writing  of  this 
fact  in  his  General  History  says:  "The  most  of 
those  rivers  are  inhabited  by  several  nations,  or 
rather  families  of  the  name  of  the  rivers. " 

Other  tribes  evidently  took  their  names  from 
the  places  where  they  lived.  Among  these  were 
the  Pamunkeys,  the  War-as-coy-acks,  the  Nan- 
se-monds,  the  Ac-co-macs.  The  Cherokees, 
however,  derive  their  name  from  their  descent 
— Sons  of  Fire  they  called  themselves. 

How  much  of  interest  lies  locked  up  in  these 
names,  most  of  which  will  remain  untranslatable 
forever! 

The  domain  ruled  by  Powhatan  was  sur- 
rounded by  enemies  who  were  forever  at  war 
with  it.  Among  these  may  be  most  conspicu- 
ously mentioned  the  Man-a-kins,  or  Mon-a- 
cans,  and  the  Man-na-ho-acks.  Both  of  these 
powers  lay  to  the  west,  the  first  on  the  headwaters 
of  the  James,  and  the  latter  on  the  headwaters  of 
the  Rappahannock.  It  was  from  this  region  that 
the  colony  had  endless  trouble,  and  many  of  its 


2,70  The  Forest  Primeval 

defensive  measures,  after  its  first  struggles  with 
those  nearer  Jamestown,  were  directed  towards 
stopping  the  incursions  of  these  enemies,  who 
were  not  only  enemies  of  the  Enghsh,  but  of  the 
native  Indian  population,  which  lived  in  the 
portion  of  Virginia  first  occupied  by  the  English. 

Strachey  tells  us  in  speaking  of  the  difi^erent 
nations  of  Indians  in  Virginia:  "The  people 
dififer  not  much  in  nature,  habit,  or  condition, 
only  they  are  more  daring  upon  us;  and  before 
we  erected  our  forts  amongst  them,  there  was 
ever  enmity,  and  open  wars,  between  the  high 
and  low  country,  going  by  the  names  of  Mon-o- 
cans  and  Powhatans."' 

The  Man-na-ho-acs,  included  eight  tribes, 
these  were: 

The  Man-na-ho-acs,  who  lived  in  Stafford  and 
Spottsylvania  counties;  the  Shack-a-ko-nies,  in 
Spottsylvania ;  the  Whon-ken-ties,  and  the  Taux- 
i-tan-i-ans  in  Fauquier  County;  the  Teg-ni-na- 
ties,  and  the  Has-si-nun-ga-es,  in  Culpeper;  the 
Ont-ponies,  and  the  Ste-gar-a-kies  in  Orange 
County.'  The  last  seven  paid  tribute  to  the 
Man-na-ho-acs.^ 

The  Mon-a-cans  included  five  tribes: 

The  Mon-a-cans,  who  lived  on  the  James, 
above  the  falls,  and  numbered  thirty  warriors, 
their  chief  town,  Ras-sawck,  being  In  the  fork  of 
James   Rlver'^;  the  Mon-a-sic-cap-a-noes,  who 

^  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  27.        ^  Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89. 

3  Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  pp.  102,  104. 

4  The  southeastern  extremity  of  Goochland  County. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  371 

lived  in  Louisa  and  Fluvanna  counties;  the 
Mon-a-has-san-oes,  who  lived  in  Bedford  and 
Buckingham  counties;  the  Mas-sin-a-cacs,  who 
lived  in  Cumberland;  and  the  Mo-hem-en-choes, 
who  lived  in  Powhatan  County.'  The  four  last 
paid  tribute  to  the  Mon-a-cans.^ 

The  'Mas-sa-wo-mecks.  Strachey  thus  de- 
scribes this  tribe: 

"Beyond  the  mountains,  from  whence  is  the 
head  of  the  river  Patomac,  do  inhabit  the  Mas- 
sa-wo-mecks  (Powhatan's  yet  mortal  enemies) 
upon  a  great  salt  water,  which  by  all  likelihood 
may  either  be  some  part  of  Canada,  some  great 
lake,  or  some  inlet  of  some  sea,  that  may  fall  into 
the  west  ocean  or  Mar  del  sur.^  These  Mas- 
sa-wo-mecks  are  a  great  nation,  and  very  popu- 
lous, for  the  inhabitants  of  the  heads  of  all  those 
rivers,  especially  the  Pa-taw-o-mecks,  the  Paw- 
tux-unts,  the  Sas-ques-a-han-oughes,  the  Tock- 
woghs,  are  continually  harbored^  and  frightened 
by  them,  of  whose  cruelty  the  said  people  gener- 
ally complained,  and  were  very  Importunate  with 
Captain  Smith,  and  his  company,  In  the  time  of 
their  discovery,  to  free  them  from  those  tormen- 
tors, to  which  purpose  they  offered  food,  conduct, 
assistants,  and  continual  subjection,  which  were 
motives  sufficient  for  Captain  Smith  to  promise 
to  return  with  sufficient  forces  to  constrain  the 


'Burk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  89. 

'Historie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  pp.  102,  104. 

J  South  Sea,  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

4  Forced  to  keep  their  harbors. 


372  The  Forest  Primeval 

said  Mas-sa-wo-mecks;  but  there  were  in  the 
colony  at  that  time  such  factions  and  base  envies, 
as  mahce  in  some,  in  some  ignorance,  and  coward- 
ice in  others,  made  that  opportunity  to  be  lost. 

"Seven  boats  full  of  these  Mas-sa-wo-mecks, 
the  discoverers  before  mentioned,  encoun- 
tered at  the  head  of  the  bay,  whose  targets, 
baskets,  swords,  tobacco-pipes,  platters,  bows 
and  arrows,  and  everything,  showed  they  much 
exceeded  them  of  our  parts;  and  their  dexterity 
in  their  several  boats,  made  of  the  barks  of  trees 
sewed  together,  and  well  luted'  with  gum  and 
resin  of  the  pine  tree,  argueth  that  they  are 
seated  upon  some  great  water.  Of  these,  like- 
wise, it  may  please  the  Lord  General  again  to 
inform  himself,  as  circumstances  and  occasion 
shall  serve  to  turn  against  Powhatan.  "- 

Toward  the  north,  other  tribes  were  the  Tock- 
woghes,  who  lived  in  a  strongly  fortified  town, 
on  a  river  of  that  name,  now  called  the  Chester,^ 
and  the  At-quan-a-chuks,  who  lived  in  Delaware. 

In  this  direction  we  also  hear  of  the  Sen-e-dos, 
who  occupied  the  north  fork  of  the  Shenandoah 
until  1732,  when  they  were  exterminated  by  hos- 
tile tribes  from  the  south.  And  the  Tus-ca-ro- 
ras,  whose  villages  were  near  Martinsburg,  in 
the  present  county  of  Berkeley."^ 


'  Having  the  cracks  or  openings  closed. 

'  Strachey's  Historic  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  pp.  104-5. 

3  Smith,  vol.  i.,  p.  182. 

■»  Peyton's  History  of  A  ugusta  County,  p.  6. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  373 

This  was  presumably  a  branch  of  the  great 
nation  of  that  name  which  was  well  known. 

The  Cin-e-las,  on  the  Upper  Potomac,  are 
mentioned,  but  not  much  is  known  of  them. 

And  the  Pas-cat-a-way  tribe,  on  the  head- 
waters of  the  Chesapeake,  is  also  mentioned. 
They  were  alive  and  gave  trouble  to  the  Vir- 
ginia and  Maryland  authorities  as  late  as  1699.^ 

Strachey  gives  us  this  account  of  the  Sus-que- 
han-nocks;  who  lived  still  farther  to  the  north: 

"Upon  the  river  inhabit  a  people  called  the 
Sus-que-sa-han-oughs;  they  are  seated  two  days 
higher  than  was  passage  for  the  discoverers' 
barge;  howbeit,  sixty  of  the  Sus-que-sa-han-oughs 
came  to  the  discoverers  with  skins,  bows,  arrows, 
targets,  swords,  beads,  and  tobacco-pipes  for 
presents. 

"Such  great  and  well-proportioned  men  are 
seldom  seen,  for  they  seemed  like  giants  to 
the  English, — yea,  and  to  the  neighbors — yet 
seemed  of  an  honest  and  simple  disposition, 
with  much  ado  restrained  from  adoring  the  dis- 
coverers as  gods.  These  are  the  most  strange 
people  of  all  those  countries,  both  in  language  and 
attire;  for  their  language  it  may  well  beseem  their 
proportions,  sounding  from  them  as  it  were  a 
great  voice  in  a  vault  or  cave,  as  an  echo:  their 
attire  is  the  skins  of  bears  and  wolves;  some  have 
cassocks  made  of  bears'  hides  and  skins,  that  a 
man's  neck  goeth  through  the  skin's  neck,  and 
the  ears  of  the  bear  are  fastened  to  his  shoulders 

•  Sainsbury  Abstracts,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  1 10-15. 


374  The  Forest  Primeval 

behind,  the  nose  and  teeth  hanging  down  his 
breast,  and  at  the  end  of  the  nose  hangs  a  bear's 
paw;  the  half  sleeves  coming  to  the  elbow  were 
the  necks  of  bears,  and  the  arms  through  the 
mouth,  with  paws  hanging  In  a  chain  for  a  jewel; 
his  tobacco-pipe  three-quarters  of  a  yard  long, 
prettily  carved  with  a  bird,  a  deer,  or  with  some 
such  device,  at  the  great  end,  sufficient  to  beat 
out  the  brains  of  a  horse.  Likewise  their  bows, 
and  arrows,  and  clubs,  are  suitable  to  their 
greatness;  these  are  scarce  known  to  Powhatan. 

''They  can  make  well  near  six  hundred  able  and 
mighty  men,  and  are  palisadoed  In  their  towns 
to  defend  them  from  the  Mas-sa-wo-mecks,  their 
mortal  enemies.  Five  of  these  chief  wer-6-ances 
came  aboard  the  discoverers,  and  crossed  the 
bay  with  them  In  their  barge;  the  picture  of  the 
greatest  of  them  Is  portrayed,  the  calf  of  whose 
leg  was  three-quarters  of  a  yard  about,  and  all  the 
rest  of  his  limbs  so  answerable  to  that  proportion, 
that  he  seemed  the  goodliest  man  they  ever  saw; 
his  hair  the  one  side  was  long,  the  other  shorn 
close,  with  a  ridge  over  his  crown  like  a  coxcomb ; 
his  arrows  were  five  quarters '  long,  headed  with 
flints  or  splinters  of  stones,  in  form  like  a  heart, 
an  Inch  broad,  and  an  Inch  and  a  half  or  more 
long;  these  he  wore  in  a  wolf's  skin  on  his  back 
for  his  quiver,  his  bow  in  the  one  hand  and  his 
club  in  the  other.  "^ 

They  included,  or  were  otherwise  known  as 

'  Of  a  yard. 

*  Stracliey's  Ilistorie  of  Travaile  into  Virginia,  p.  39. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  375 

the  Con-es-to-gas,  and  occupied  a  large  area  to 
the  north  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  appear  to 
have  been  a  separate  confederacy.' 

It  is  said  that  the  Sus-que-han-oughs  origin- 
ally occupied  the  headwaters  of  the  Chesapeake 
Bay,  but  were  driven  out  by  the  CIn-e-la  tribe 
and  took  up  their  residence  on  the  upper  waters 
of  the  Potomac,  which  was  supposed  to  be  one  of 
their  favorite  places  of  residence,  as  the  remains 
of  their  villages  are  more  numerous  in  this  re- 
gion than  elsewhere  in  the  Valley.  ^ 

In  1662,  the  colony  took  this  action  in  regard 
to  them: 

"Upon  the  report  of  the  committee  appointed 
for  the  Indian  affairs  it  appearing  that  the  Sus- 
que-han-nock  and  other  Northern  Indians,  in 
considerable  numbers,  frequently  come  to  the 
heads  of  our  rivers,  whereby  plain  paths  will 
soon  be  made  which  may  prove  dangerous  conse- 
quence, and  also  affront  the  English  and  destroy 
their  stocks  and  get  the  whole  trade  from  our 
neighboring  and  tributary  Indians;  it  is  ordered 
by  this  assembly  that  for  prevention  and  of  other 
injuries  to  the  English  from  the  Marylanders  for 
the  future,  that  the  honorable  governor  cause 
by  proclamation  a  prohibition  of  all  Marylanders, 
English  and  Indians  (which  they  have  already 
done  to  us),  and  of  all  other  Indians  to  the  north- 
ward of  Maryland,  from  trucking,  trading,  bar- 
tering, or  dealing  with  any  English  or  Indians  to 

'  The  American  Anthropologist,  vol.  xi.,  p.  260. 
^  Peyton's  History  of  Augusta  County,  p.  6. 


376  The  Forest  Primeval 

the  southward  of  that  place,  and  that,  by  com- 
mission from  the  governor.  Colonel  Wood  be 
impowered  to  manage  the  said  business."' 

The  Not-to-ways  settled  on  the  river  which 
still  bears  their  name,  at  a  late  period,  some  time 
after  1665.  Their  principal  town  was  in  Nanse- 
mond  or  Southampton  County,  very  near  the 
North  Carolina  line.  They  are  first  mentioned 
in  the  acts  in  1693,  when  the  County  Court  of 
Surry  County,  which  then  stretched  to  the  North 
Carolina  line,  was  ordered  to  designate  certain 
marks  with  which  all  swine  owned  by  the  In- 
dians of  the  various  towns  of  this  tribe  should  be 
marked.^  In  1728,  Colonel  Byrd  speaks  of  them 
as  "the  only  Indians  of  any  consequence  now  re- 
maining within  the  limits  of  Virginia."  Notto- 
way Town,  as  their  last  stronghold  was  called, 
then  numbered  about  two  hundred  inhabitants. 

The  condition  of  this  tribe,  as  it  existed  in  1734, 
is  presented  to  us  in  an  act  of  Assembly  passed 
to  enable  them  to  sell  a  part  of  their  lands,  thus: 
"Whereas  the  Nottoway  Indians  are  possessed 
of  a  large  tract  of  land,  laid  off  in  a  circle  of  six 
miles  diameter,  lying  and  being  on  the  north  side 
of  Nottoway  River,  in  the  county  of  Isle  of  Wight ; 
and  of  one  other  large  tract  of  land,  of  six  miles 
square,  lying  and  being  on  the  south  side  of  the 
said  river,  in  the  county  aforesaid:  And,  where- 
as, that  nation  is  of  late  reduced,  by  wars,  sick- 
ness, and  other  casualties,  to  a  small  number,  and 

'  2  Hening,  153.  »  3  Hening,  109. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  zil 

among  those  that  remain,  many  are  old  and 
unable  to  labor  or  hunt,  so  that  one  of  the  said 
tracts  will  be  sufficient  for  them,  and  more  than 
they  are  able,  in  their  present  circumstances,  to 
cultivate,  or  make  any  use  of. " 

Permission  was  therefore  granted  to  the  chief 
men  of  the  Nottoway  nation  to  sell  the  circular 
tract  of  six  miles  in  diameter,  with  the  consent  of 
their  trustees,  John  Simmons,  of  Isle  of  Wight, 
and  Thomas  Cocke  and  Benjamin  Edwards,  of 
Surry,  who  were  appointed  to  see  the  act  duly 
executed.  No  one  person  was  allowed  to  buy 
more  than  four  hundred  acres,  and  all  the  formal- 
ities of  the  transfer,  which  was  to  vest  a  fee 
simple  title  in  the  purchaser,  were  minutely 
prescribed,  including  the  making  of  livery  of 
seisin  upon  the  land.  One  tract  of  four  hundred 
acres  was  to  be  purchased  at  what  \^'as  to  be 
adjudged  a  reasonable  price,  for  a  glebe  for  the 
use  of  the  parson  of  the  parish  wherein  the  land 
lay.  The  trustees  themselves  were  not  to  pur- 
chase any  of  the  land  without  the  consent  of  the 
Governor  and  Council. ' 

About  1800,  the  Nottoways,  residing  in  the 
County  of  Southampton,  were  authorized  to  sell 
three  hundred  acres  of  their  land;  and  in  1803, 
they  were  allowed,  under  the  direction  and  with 
the  approbation  of  their  trustees,  to  sell  all  of 
their  lands  lying  on  the  north  side  of  Nottoway 
River.  The  money  arising  from  the  sale  of  the 
lands  was  to  be  applied  by  the  trustees  in  the 

'  4  Hening,  459. 


378  The  Forest  Primeval 

manner  they  thought  best  for  the  benefit  of  the 
tribe,  so  long  as  any  of  them  were  living.  Should 
the  tribe  become  extinct,  the  money  or  any  part 
of  it  which  was  left,  was  to  be  paid  into  the  public 
treasury.  ^ 

In  1816,  new  trustees  were  appointed  for  the 
Nottoways.  These  trustees  were  empowered 
to  make  reasonable  rules  and  regulations  for  the 
government  of  the  tribe  and  for  the  expenditure 
of  the  money  held  in  trust  for  them,  which  was 
to  continue  so  long  as  any  number  of  the  tribe 
were  living.  Any  funds  remaining  on  hand  were 
then  to  be  paid  in  to  the  public  treasury.^ 

In  1 8 19,  this  tribe  was  reduced  to  only  twenty- 
six  persons.  They  owned  a  tract  of  land  con- 
taining 3912  acres.  This  being  more  than  they 
needed  for  agricultural  purposes,  3000  acres  of 
it  were  authorized  to  be  divided  and  sold  for 
their  benefit.  The  trustees  of  the  tribe  and  the 
Indians  were  to  unite  in  making  the  deeds  of 
conveyance.  The  purchase  money  was  to  be 
invested  for  the  benefit  of  the  tribe.  ^ 

The  Indians  objected  to  this,  as  being  too 
much  land  to  be  sold,  and  it  was  soon  afterwards 
reduced  to  11 24  acres  which  was  to  be  thus 
disposed  of.  ^ 

In  1838,  a  plan  was  adopted  whereby  the 
members  of  the  tribe  could  have  their  parts  of  the 
land  belonging  to  them  set  aside  so  as  to  be 

'  I  Shepherd's  Statutes  at  Large,  274;  3  ditto,  36. 

'Acts,  1816-17,  p.  174. 

3  Acts,  1818-19,  p.  198.  *  Acts,  1820,  p.  92. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  379 

held  separately  in  fee,  but  this  w  as  only  to  apply 
to  those  who  were  not  likely  to  become  charge- 
able to  any  part  of  the  Commonwealth. ' 

The  Me-her-rins,  whose  name  still  lives  in 
the  designation  of  one  of  our  rivers,  are  said 
to  have  been  a  branch  of  the  fierce  Sus-que- 
han-nas,  who  were  enemies  of  the  Powhatans. 

This  tribe  settled  in  Virginia  after  the  arrival 
of  the  white  man,  some  time  after  1665,  They 
lived  on  the  Me-her-rin  River.  In  1753,  a  parish 
bearing  their  name  was  formed  in  the  southern 
part  of  Brunswick  and  Greensville  counties. 
This  was  a  fierce  and  warlike  tribe. 

The  Oc-ca-nee-chees  were  a  small  but  very  im- 
portant nation  which  dwelt  in  this  same  region, 
in  what  was  later  Mecklenburg  County.  Their 
chief  town  was  near  Clarksville,  close  to  the 
Carolina  border,  and  situated  upon  an  island  in 
the  Staunton,  or  Roanoke,  River.  It  was  de- 
fended by  three  strong  forts,  and  was  a  cele- 
brated center  of  trade  for  the  other  Indians  for 
hundreds  of  miles.  It  was  no  doubt  this  fact 
that  made  their  language  the  universal  medium 
of  communication  as  stated  by  Beverley.^ 

In  1676,  when  this  tribe  came  into  special 
prominence  on  account  of  events  connected  with 
Bacon's  Rebellion,  its  king  was  Per-si-cles.  He 
is  described  as  a  very  brave  man  and  ever  true 
to  the  English,  but  during  the  tragic  events  of 
that  year  he  was  finally  brought  into  hostility  to 
them,  and  was  killed  in  the  battle  which  then 

'  Acts,  1838,  p.  213.  *  Beverley,  book  3,  p.  24. 


380  The  Forest  Primeval 

occurred,  Nathaniel  Bacon  being  in  command  of 
the  Virginians. 

The  Tu-te-loes  also  lived  upon  the  Me-her-rin 
River.  This  tribe  was  connected  with  the  Caro- 
lina Indians,  probably  the  Cho-wan-ocs. ' 

West  of  the  Mon-a-cans  and  Man-na-ho-acks 
lay  the  mountains.  These  were,  in  the  posses- 
sion of  many  powerful  and  terrible  tribes.  The 
most  prominent  of  these  tribes  were  the  follow- 
ing: 

"The  Shaw-a-nese,  the  most  considerable  of 
the  Algonquin  tribes,  had  their  principal  villages 
east  of  the  Alleghanies,  near  the  present  town  of 
Winchester,  but  their  possessions  extended  west 
to  the  Mississippi  River.  Foote  asserts^  that 
the  Shaw-a-nese  owned  the  whole  Valley  of  Vir- 
ginia, but  had  abandoned  it.  He  gives  no 
authority  for  the  statement,  and  we  have  found 
none  in  our  researches.  Of  all  the  Indian  tribes 
with  whom  our  ancestors  came  in  contact,  the 
Shaw-a-nese  were  the  most  bloody  and  terrible, 
holding  all  other  men,  as  well  Indians  as  whites, 
in  contempt  as  warriors,  in  comparison  with 
themselves.  This  estimate  of  themselves  made 
them  more  restless  and  fierce  than  any  other 
savages,  and  they  boasted  that  they  had  killed 
ten  times  as  many  white  people  as  any  other 
Indians  did.  They  were  a  well-formed,  active, 
and  ingenious  people,  capable  of  enduring  great 

'  Jefferson's  Notes  on  Virginia,  p.  97. 
'  Second  Series,  p.  159. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  381 

privations  and  hardships,  were  assuming  and 
imperious  in  the  presence  of  others  not  of  their 
own  nation,  and  sometimes  very  cruel. "  ' 

"That  portion  of  the  valley  now  embraced 
within  the  county  of  Augusta,  is  not  known 
to  have  been  the  home  or  fixed  residence  of  any 
tribe  of  Indians  at  the  period  of  its  settlement, 
nor  is  it  known  that  it  was  not  the  home  of  some 
tribe  or  branch  of  a  tribe.  Such  red  men  as 
Lewis  met  on  entering  Augusta,  in  1732,  were 
friendly,  and  so  continued  for  over  twenty  years. 

''That  the  country  had  been,  previous  to  1732, 
permanently  occupied,  is  indicated  by  the  re- 
mains of  barrows,-  cairns^  and  ramparts,  com- 
posed of  mingled  earth  and  stones,  found  at 
different  points  in  the  county,  notably  near 
Waynesboro,  on  Lewis  Creek,  a  few  miles  below 
Staunton;  on  Middle  River  near  Dudley's  mill, 
and  at  Jarman's  Gap,  north  of  Rockfish.  The 
cairn  at  Jarman's  Gap  is  probably  sepulchral, 
and  may  have  been  intended  and  used  as  a 
place  of  worship. 

"The  Valley  of  Virginia  was,  in  17 16,  when 
visited  by  Spotswood,  without  extensive  forests, 
but  the  margins  of  streams  were  fringed  with 
trees;  there  were  pretty  woodlands  in  the  low 
grounds,  and  the  mountain  sides  were  densely 

■  Peyton's  History  of  Augusta  County,  p.  5. 

All  quotations  from  Peyton's  History  of  A  ugusta  County  are  repro- 
duced by  the  permission  of  L.  W.  H.  Peyton,  the  personal  representa- 
tive of  Col.  John  Lewis  Peyton.  ^  Burial  mounds. 

J  Heaps  of  stones,  often  for  sepulchral  purposes. 


382  The  Forest  Primeval 

covered  with  timber  trees.  The  wood  destroyed 
by  autumnal  fires  was  replaced  by  a  luxuriant 
growth  of  blue  grass,  white  clover,  and  other 
natural  grasses  and  herbage.  The  spontaneous 
productions  of  the  earth  were  everywhere  numer- 
ous and  abundant,  and  there  were  many  varieties 
of  game  and  wild  animals.  The  luxuriance  of 
the  vegetation  evinced  the  fertility  of  a  soil  which 
required  only  the  hand  of  art  to  render  it  in  the 
highest  degree  subservient  to  the  wants  of  man. 
But  the  nomads  of  the  valley  were  averse  to 
improvement;  their  indolence  refused  to  culti- 
vate the  earth,  and  their  restless  spirit  disdained 
the  confinement  of  sedentary  life.  To  prevent 
the  growth  of  timber  and  preserve  the  district 
as  pasture,  that  it  might  support  as  much  game 
as  possible,  and  that  the  grass  might  come  for- 
ward in  the  early  spring,  the  savages,  before  retir- 
ing into  winter  quarters,  set  on  fire  the  dry  grass 
and  burnt  over  the  country.  The  absence  of 
trees  in  an  extensive  quarter  of  the  county  north- 
west of  Staunton,  led  our  ancestors  to  style  it 
*The  Barrens,'  a  name  that  it  still  bears,  though 
it  is  interspersed  at  this  time  by  handsome 
woodlands,  the  growth  of  the  last  eighty  years. 

"The  two  principal  non-resident  tribes  who 
frequented  this  fine  country  in  1716-1745  were 
the  Delawares  from  the  north  and  the  Ca-taw- 
bas  from  the  south.  At  the  time  Augusta  was 
settled,  1732,  a  bloody  war  was  progressing 
between  these  tribes,  and  the  valley  was  the 
theater  of  action.     In  this  war  other  tribes  now 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  383 

and  again  participated  as  the  alhes  of  one  or  the 
other  party,  and  it  was  at  a  battle  on  the  north 
fork  of  the  Shenandoah,  in  the  county  now 
bearing  that  name,  that  the  Sen-e-dos  tribe  was 
exterminated.  There  is  a  burial  place  there 
eighteen  to  twenty  feet  high  and  sixty  feet  in 
circumference,  filled  with  human  bones,  which 
testify  to  the  truth  of  this  tradition. "  ' 

We  have  no  map  giving  us  the  names  and 
location  of  the  Indian  villages  in  this  portion  of 
the  State,  as  we  had  from  Smith's  map,  of  the 
eastern  and  central  portion,  nor  have  we  at 
hand  material  for  the  composition  of  such  a 
map. 

An  account  of  some  of  their  settlements  and 
antiquities  is  thus  given  us  by  Kercheval: 

"On  the  banks  of  the  Co-hon-go-ru-ton 
[Potomac],  there  has  doubtless  been  a  pretty 
considerable  settlement.  The  late  Col.  Joseph 
Swearengen's  dwelling  house  stands  within  a 
circular  wall  or  moat.  When  first  known  by  the 
white  inhabitants,  the  wall  was  about  eighteen 
inches  high,  and  the  ditch  about  two  feet  deep. 
This  circular  wall  was  made  of  earth — is  now  con- 
siderably reduced,  but  yet  plainly  to  be  seen. 
It  is  not  more  than  half  a  mile  from  Shepherds- 
town. 

"For  what  particular  purpose  this  wall  was 
thrown  up,  whether  for  ornament  or  defense, 
the  author  cannot  pretend  to  form  an  opinion. 
If  it  was  intended  for  defense,  it  appears  to  have 

'  Peyton's  History  oj  A  ugusta  County,  pp.  5,  9. 


384  The  Forest  Primeval   - 

been  too  low  to  answer  any  valuable  purpose  in 
that  way. 

"On  the  Wap-pa-tom-a-ka,  a  few  miles  below 
the  forks,  tradition  relates  that  there  was  a 
very  considerable  Indian  settlement.  On  the 
farm  of  Isaac  Vanmeter,  Esq.,  on  this  water- 
course, in  the  county  of  Hardy,  when  the  coun- 
try was  first  discovered,  there  were  considerable 
openings  of  the  land,  or  natural  prairies,  which 
are  called  'the  Indian  old  fields,'  to  this  day. 
Numerous  Indian  graves  are  to  be  seen  in  the 
neighborhood.  A  little  above  the  forks  of  this 
river  a  very  large  Indian  grave  is  now  [1850]  to 
be  seen.  In  the  bank  of  the  river,  a  little  below 
the  forks,  numerous  human  skeletons  have  been 
discovered,  and  several  articles  of  curious  work- 
manship. A  highly  finished  pipe,  representing 
a  snake  coiled  round  the  bowl,  with  its  head 
projected  above  the  bowl,  was  among  them. 
There  was  the  under  jaw  bone  of  a  human  being 
of  great  size  found  at  the  same  place,  which 
contained  eight  jaw  teeth  in  each  side  of  enor- 
mous size;  and  what  is  more  remarkable,  the 
teeth  stood  transversely  in  the  jaw  bone.  It 
would  pass  over  any  common  man's  face  with 
entire  ease. ' 

"There  are  many  other  signs  of  Indian  settle- 
ments all  along  this  river,  both  above  and  below 
the  one  just  described.  Mr.  Garret  Blue,  of  the 
county  of  Hampshire,  informed  the  author,  that 

»  Peyton  thinks  this  was  the  bone  of  some  animal.  History  of 
Augusta  County,  p.  7. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  385 

about  two  miles  below  the  Hanging  Rocks,  in 
the  bank  of  the  river,  a  stratum  of  ashes,  about 
one  rod  in  length,  was  some  years  ago  discovered. 
At  this  place  are  signs  of  an  Indian  village,  and 
their  old  fields.  The  Rev.  John  J.  Jacobs,  of 
Hampshire,  informed  the  author  that  on  Mr. 
Daniel  Cresap's  land,  on  the  north  branch  of 
the  Potomac,  a  few  miles  above  Cumberland,  a 
human  skeleton  was  discovered,  which  had  been 
covered  with  a  coat  of  wood  ashes,  about  two 
feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground.  An  entire 
decomposition  of  the  skeleton  had  taken  place, 
with  the  exception  of  the  teeth:  they  were  in  a 
perfect  state  of  preservation. 

"On  the  two  great  branches  of  the  Shenan- 
doah there  are  now  to  be  seen  numerous  sites  of 
their  ancient  villages,  several  of  which  are  so 
remarkable  that  they  deserve  a  passing  notice. 
It  has  been  noticed,  in  my  preceding  chapter, 
that  on  Mr.  Steenbergen's  land,  on  the  north 
fork  of  the  Shenandoah,  the  remains  of  a  large 
Indian  mound  are  plainly  to  be  seen.  It  is 
also  suggested  that  this  was  once  the  residence 
of  the  Senedo  tribe,  and  that  that  tribe  had  been 
exterminated  by  the  southern  Indians.  Exclu- 
sive of  this  large  mound,  there  are  several  other 
Indian  graves.  About  this  place  many  of  their 
implements  and  domestic  utensils  have  been 
found.  A  short  distance  below  the  mouth  of 
Stony  Creek  (a  branch  of  the  Shenandoah), 
within  four  or  five  miles  of  Woodstock,  are  the 
signs  of  an  Indian  village.     At  this  place  a  gun 


386  The  Forest  Primeval 

barrel  and  several  iron  tomahawks  were  found 
long  after  the  Indians  left  the  country. 

"On  Mr.  Anthony  Kline's  farm,  within  about 
three  miles  of  Stephensburg,  in  the  county  of 
Frederick,  in  a  glen  near  his  mill,  a  rifle  was  found 
which  had  laid  in  the  ground  forty  or  fifty  years. 
Every  part  of  this  gun  (even  the  stock,  which 
was  made  of  black  walnut)  was  sound.  Mr. 
Kline's  father  took  the  barrel  from  the  stock, 
placed  the  breech  on  the  fire,  and  it  soon  dis- 
charged with  a  loud  explosion. 

"In  the  county  of  Page,  on  the  south  fork  of 
Shenandoah  River,  there  are  several  Indian 
burying  grounds,  and  signs  of  their  villages. 
These  signs  are  also  to  be  seen  on  the  Hawks- 
bill  Creek.  A  few  miles  above  Luray,  on  the 
west  side  of  the  river,  there  are  three  large  Indian 
graves,  ranged  nearly  side  by  side,  thirty  or 
forty  feet  in  length,  twelve  or  fourteen  feet  wide, 
and  five  or  six  feet  high.  Around  them,  in  cir- 
cular form,  are  a  number  of  single  graves.  The 
whole  covers  an  area  of  little  less  than  a  quarter 
of  an  acre.  They  present  to  the  eye  a  very 
ancient  appearance,  and  are  covered  over  with 
pine  and  other  forest  growth.  The  excavation 
of  the  ground  around  them  is  plainly  to  be  seen. 
The  three  first  mentioned  graves  are  in  oblong 
form,  probably  contain  many  hundreds  of  human 
bodies,  and  were  doubtless  the  work  of  ages. 

"On  the  land  of  Mr.  Noah  Keyser,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Hawksbill  Creek,  stand  the  remains 
of   a    large    mound.     This,    like    that    at    Mr. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  387 

Steenbergen's,  is  considerably  reduced  by  plow- 
ing, but  is  yet  some  twelve  or  fourteen  feet  high, 
and  is  upwards  of  sixty  yards  round  at  the  base. 
It  is  found  to  be  literally  filled  with  human  skele- 
tons, and  at  every  fresh  plowing  a  fresh  layer  of 
bones  is  brought  to  the  surface.  The  bones  are 
found  to  be  in  a  calcareous  '  state,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  teeth,  which  are  generally  sound. 
Several  unusually  large  skeletons  have  been 
discovered  in  this  grave.  On  the  lands  now  the 
residence  of  my  venerable  friend,  John  Gatewood 
Esq.,  the  signs  of  an  Indian  village  are  yet 
plainly  to  be  seen.  There  are  numerous  frag- 
ments of  their  pots,  cups,  arrow  points,  and  other 
implements  for  domestic  use,  found  from  time  to 
time.  Convenient  to  this  village  there  are 
several  pretty  large  graves. 

"There  is  also  evidence  of  an  Indian  town  in 
Powell's  Fort,  on  the  lands  now^  owned  by  Mr. 
Daniel  Munch.  From  appearances,  this  too  was 
a  pretty  considerable  village.  A  little  above 
the  forks  of  the  Shenandoah,  on  the  east  side  of 
the  South  Fork,  are  the  appearances  of  another 
settlement,  exhibiting  the  remains  of  two  con- 
siderable mounds  now  entirely  reduced  by  plow- 
ing. About  this  place  many  pipes,  tomahawks, 
axes,  hominy  pestles,  etc.,  have  been  found. 
Some  four  or  five  miles  below  the  forks  of  the 
river,  on  the  southeast  side,  on  the  lands  now 
owned  by  Capt.  Daniel  Oliver,  is  the  site  of 
another  Indian   village.     At  this   place   a   con- 

"  Reduced  to  a  soft  chalky  condition.  '  1850. 


388  The  Forest  Primeval 

siderable  variety  of  articles  have  been  plowed  up. 
Among  the  number  were  several  whole  pots,  cups, 
pipes,  axes,  tomahawks,  hominy  pestles,  etc. 
A  beautiful  pipe  of  high  finish,  made  of  white 
flint  stone,  and  several  other  articles  of  curious 
workmanship,  all  of  very  hard  stone,  have  been 
found.  Their  cups  and  pots  were  made  of  a 
mixture  of  clay  and  shells,  of  rude  workmanship, 
but  of  firm  texture. 

"There  are  many  other  places,  on  all  our 
watercourses,  to  wit.  Stony  Creek,  Cedar  Creek, 
and  0-pe-quon,  as  well  as  the  larger  watercourses 
which  exhibit  evidences  of  ancient  Indian  settle- 
ments. The  Shaw-nee  tribe,  it  is  well  known, 
were  settled  about  the  neighborhood  of  Win- 
chester. What  are  called  the  'Shawnee  cabins,' 
and  'Shawnee  springs,'  immediately  adjoining 
the  town,  are  well  known.  It  is  also  equally 
certain,  that  this  tribe  had  a  considerable  village 
on  the  Babb's  march,  some  three  or  four  miles 
northwest  of  Winchester. 

"The  Tus-ca-ro-ra  Indians  resided  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Martinsburg,  in  the  county  of 
Berkeley,  on  the  Tus-ca-ro-ra  Creek.  On  the  fine 
farm,  now  owned  by,  and  the  residence  of,  Mat- 
thew Ranson,  Esq.  (the  former  residence  of  Mr. 
Benjamin  Beeson),  are  the  remains  of  several 
Indian  graves.  These,  like  several  others,  are 
now  plowed  down;  but  numerous  fragments 
of  human  bones  are  to  be  found  mixed  with  the 
clay  on  the  surface.  Mr.  Ranson  informed  the 
author,  that  at  this  place  the  under  jaw  bone  of  a 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  389 

human  being  was  plowed  up,  of  enormous  size ;  the 
teeth  were  found  in  a  perfect  state  of  preservation. 

"Near  the  Shannondale  springs,  on  the  lands 
of  Mr.  Fairfax,  an  Indian  grave  some  years  since 
was  opened,  in  which  a  skeleton  of  unusual  size 
was  discovered. 

"Mr.  E.  Paget  informed  the  author  that  on 
Flint  Run,  a  small  rivulet  of  the  South  River,  in 
the  county  of  Shenandoah,  a  skeleton  was  found 
by  his  father,  the  thigh  bone  of  which  measured 
three  feet  in  length,  and  the  under  jaw  bone 
of  which  would  pass  over  any  common  man's 
face  with  ease. 

"Near  the  Indian  village  described  on  a  pre- 
ceding page,  on  Capt.  Oliver's  land,  a  few  years 
ago,  some  hands  in  removing  the  stone  covering 
an  Indian  grave  discovered  a  skeleton,  whose 
great  size  attracted  their  attention.  The  stones 
were  carefully  taken  off  without  disturbing  the 
frame,  when  it  was  discovered  that  the  body  had 
been  laid  at  full  length  on  the  ground,  and  broad 
flat  stones  set  round  the  corpse  in  the  shape 
of  a  coffin.  Capt.  Oliver  measured  the  skeleton 
as  it  lay,  which  was  nearly  seven  feet  long. "  ' 

"Among  the  most  formidable  of  the  Indian 
nations  with  which  the  Virginians  came  into 
contact  and  collision  was  the  nation  of  *the 
Cher-o-kees,  who  occupied  the  upper  valley  of 
the  Tennessee  River  and  the  high  lands  of  Caro- 
lina, Georgia,  and  Alabama.     The  Cher-o-kees 

'  Kercheval's  History  of  the  Valley,  pp.  34  et  seq. 


390  The  Forest  Primeval 

were  the  tallest  and  most  robust  of  the  southern 
tribes,  their  complexions  brighter  than  usual  with 
the  red  men,  and  some  of  their  young  women 
were  nearly  as  fair  and  blooming  as  European 
women.  They  owed  allegiance  to  the  Mus-co- 
gul-ges,  who  stood  at  the  head  of  a  confederacy 
composed  of  Cher-o-kees,  Sem-i-noles,  Chick- 
a-saws,  Choc-taws,  and  Creeks,  and  it  is  proba- 
ble that  bands  from  all  of  these  tribes,  or  at  least 
warriors,  accompanied  the  Cher-o-kees,  in  their 
annual  visits  to  the  Valley.  Without  exception, 
these  southern  Indians  were  proud,  haughty,  and 
arrogant,  brave  and  valiant  in  war,  ambitious 
of  conquest,  restless  and  perpetually  exercising 
their  arms,  yet  magnanimous  and  merciful  to 
a  vanquished  enemy  when  he  submitted  and 
sought  their  friendship  and  protection.' 

"The  Cherokees  are  known  to  have  been 
visited  by  De  Soto  as  early  as  1540;  but  their 
interior  position  kept  them  long  from  any  inter- 
course with  the  white  settlers  on  the  seacoast 
of  Carolina.  The  first  white  man  who  is  known 
to  have  resided  among  them  was  one  Cornelius 
Dougherty,  an  enterprising,  but  lax-principled 
Irishman,  who  established  himself  as  a  trader  in 
one  of  the  Cherokee  towns  in  1690."  ' 

"The  word  'Cheera, '  in  the  language  of  this 
tribe,  means  fire,  and  the  warriors  were  called 
Cher-ra-kee,  meaning  sons  of  fire,  that  is,  of  the 
divine  element,  and  their  priests  were  called 
Chee-ra-tag-he,  men  of  divine  fire.     This  word 

'  Peyton's  History  of  Augusta  County,  p.  6. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  391 

Cher-ra-kee,  which  applied  only  properly  to  the 
braves,  came  gradually  to  distinguish  the  whole 
tribe,  although  their  nation  was  called  by  them- 
selves Tsa-rag-hee. 

"According  to  their  own  traditions,  they  came 
originally  from  the  far  west,  but  when  first  known 
to  the  Europeans,  they  occupied  a  country  form- 
ing now  the  upper  portion  of  Georgia,  Alabama, 
and  Mississippi,  and  the  part  of  Tennessee 
south  of  the  Little  Tennessee  River. 

"The  government  of  the  tribe  was  that  of 
an  elective  monarchy,  more  absolute  in  time  of 
war  than  in  peace,  and  subject  to  deposition  at 
any  time.  It  was  held  at  the  time  of  the  Revo- 
lution, when  this  tribe  was  an  ally  of  Great 
Britain,  by  0-con-o-stot-a,  one  of  the  greatest 
war  chiefs  of  this  nation,  who  held  sway  over  it 
for  half  a  century.  Under  him  was  the  half-  or 
vice-king,  who  was  second  in  command,  and 
acted  in  his  stead  in  case  of  the  sudden  death  of 
the  monarch.  These  two  rulers  with  the  chief- 
tains, or  princes  of  the  scattered  villages,  com- 
posed the  supreme  council  of  the  nation,  which 
sat  at  E-cho-ta,  their  capital,  and  decided  all 
important  questions  in  peace  and  war.  But 
over  the  archimagus  or  king,  and  even  the 
supreme  council,  was  the  great  and  good  spirit 
who  was  the  guardian  of  the  Cher-o-kee,  and 
who  uttered  his  will  through  the  beloved  man 
or  woman  of  the  tribe. 

"During  and  after  the  Revolution,  this  office 
was  held  by  a  woman,  who  often  thwarted  the 


392  The  Forest  Primeval 

deliberate  and  deeply  concerted  plans  of  the 
great  council  of  the  nation,  with  the  great 
0-con-o-stot-a  at  its  head. 

"The  Cher-o-kees  had  no  large  cities,  nor  even 
villages,  but  dwelt  in  scattered  townships  in  the 
vicinity  of  some  stream  where  fish  and  game 
could  be  found  in  abundance.  A  number  of 
their  towns,  bearing  the  musical  names  of  Tal- 
las-se,  Tam-ot-tee,  Chil-how-ee,  Cit-i-co,  Ten- 
nas-see,  and  E-cho-ta,  were,  at  the  opening  of  the 
Revolutionary  War,  located  upon  the  rich  low- 
lands lying  between  the  Tel-li-co  and  Little 
Tennessee  Rivers.'  About  one-third  of  the 
tribe  occupied  these  settlements,  and  they  were 
known  as  the  Ot-ta-ri,  or,  among  the  mountains, 
Cher-o-kees.  About  the  same  number  were 
located  near  the  headwaters  of  the  Savannah, 
in  the  great  highland  belt,  between  the  Blue 
Ridge  and  the  Smoky  Mountains,^  and  they  were 
styled  E-rat-i,  or,  in  the  valley,  Cher-o-kees. 
Another  body,  among  whom  were  many  Creeks, 
and  which  was  somewhat  more  numerous  and 
much  more  lawless  than  either  of  the  others, 
occupied  towns  along  the  Tennessee,  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Lookout  Mountain.  These,  from  their 
residence  near  the  creek  of  that  name,  were 
known  as  Chick-a-mau-gas. " 

"These  three  bodies  were  one  people,  governed 
by    one    archimagus,    and    at    this    time    they 

'  Monroe  County,  Tennessee,  covers  all  of  this  area. 
'  The  Great  Smoky  Mountains  divide  North  Carolina  and  Ten- 
nessee,    The  Blue  Ridge  runs  to  the  east  of  them. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  393 

numbered  in  all  about  thirty  thousand  people, 
between  three  and  four  thousand  of  whom  were 
*gun  men,'  or  warriors." 

"  E-cho-ta,  which  was  located  on  the  northern 
bank  of  the  Tel-li-co,  about  five  miles  from  the 
site  of  Fort  London,  and  thirty  southwest  from 
the  present  city  of  Knoxville,'  contained  their 
great  council-house,  and  was  the  home  of  the 
archimagus,  and  the  beloved  woman,  or  pro- 
phetess of  the  tribe.  It  was  their  sacred  town, 
or  *city  of  refuge.'.  .  .  Once  within  the  limits 
of  E-cho-ta,  an  open  foe,  or  even  a  red-handed 
criminal,  could  dwell  in  peace  and  security. 
The  only  danger  was  in  going  and  returning.  It 
is  related  that  an  Englishman,  who  in  self- 
defense  had  slain  a  Cherokee,  once  fled  to  this 
sacred  city  to  escape  the  vengeance  of  the  kin- 
dred of  his  victim.  He  was  treated  here  with 
so  much  kindness  that  after  a  time  he  deemed 
it  prudent  to  leave  his  asylum.  The  Indians 
warned  him  against  the  danger;  but  he  ventured 
forth,  and  on  the  following  morning  his  body 
was  found  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  pierced 
through  and  through  with  a  score  of  arrows." 

"E-cho-ta  contained  a  hundred  or  more  cabins 
and  wigwams,  scattered  along  the  bank  of  the 
stream,  on  both  sides  of  a  broad  avenue,  shaded 
with  oaks  and  poplars,  and  trodden  hard  with  the 
feet  of  men  and  horses.  A  little  apart  from 
the  other  wigwams,  and  more  pretentious  than 

*  A  point  in  Loudon  County,  Tennessee,  would  correspond  with 
this  description. 


394  The  Forest  Primeval 

the  rest,  was  that  of  the  prophetess.  Beside  it 
was  its  *  totem' — an  otter  in  the  coils  of  a  water- 
snake.  .  .  .  Near  by  was  the  house  of  0-con-o- 
stot-a,  and  not  far  off,  the  grand  council-house  of 
the  tribe,  occupying  a  spacious  opening,  circular, 
of  a  tower-shaped  construction,  twenty  feet 
high,  and  ninety  in  circumference.  It  was 
rudely  built  of  stout  poles,  plastered  with  clay, 
and  had  a  roof  of  the  same  material,  which 
sloped  down  to  broad  eaves  that  gave  effectual 
protection  to  the  walls  from  the  rain.  Its  wide 
entrance  was  covered  with  a  couple  of  buffalo 
skins  hung  so  as  to  meet  together  in  the  middle; 
but  it  was  without  windows,  an  aperture  in  the 
roof,  protected  by  a  flap,  serving  to  let  the  smoke 
out,  and  the  light  in,  just  enough  to  make  more 
sensible  the  gloom  that  shrouded  the  interior. 
Low  benches,  neatly  made  of  cane,  were  ranged 
around  the  circumference  of  the  room;  and  on 
these  sat  the  warriors  of  the  tribe  when  they 
gathered  to  the  great  councils;  but  they  were 
cleared  away  when  the  braves  met  here  to  per- 
form their  green-corn  dance. " 

"In  the  rear  of  each  lodge  was  a  small  patch 
of  cleared  land,  where  the  women  and  negro 
slaves — stolen  from  the  white  settlers  over  the 
mountains — cultivated  beans,  corn,  and  pota- 
toes, and  occasionally  some  such  fruits  as 
pears,  plums,  and  apples.'*' 

I  Kirke's  Rear-Guard  of  the  Revolution,  pp.  13-25-  All  quotations 
from  this  work  are  reproduced  by  permission  of  D.  Appleton  & 
Company,  Publishers. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  395 

The  important  part  which  the  Cher-o-kees 
were  destined  to  play  in  the  history  of  the  Colo- 
nies, as  aUies  of  England  during  the  Revolution, 
amply  justifies  this  extended  notice  of  the 
tribe. 

West  of  the  Cherokee  settlements,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  mountains,  was  a  vast  region 
stretching  to  the  Mississippi,  which  was  entirely 
uninhabited.  Until  the  year  1769,  there  could 
not  be  found  any  permanent  habitation  of  man 
in  this  region.  It  was  the  hunting  ground  and 
battle-field  of  the  Indians,  claimed  by  hostile 
tribes,  but  occupied  by  none.' 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  a  few  descend- 
ants of  the  Cher-o-kees  are  still  living  in  Vir- 
ginia, in  Amherst  County,  where  they  and  their 
ancestors  have  been  settled  for  the  last  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  years.  They  are  the 
descendants  of  several  old  Cherokee  warriors, 
who  dropped  ofi^  from  a  band  of  pilgrims  on 
their  return  from  a  visit  to  the  "Great  White 
Father. "  There  is  a  mixture  of  white  blood  in 
the  clan,  which  now  numbers  from  two  hundred 
and  fifty  to  three  hundred  persons.  They  are 
known  locally  as  "Issues." 

The  name  "Issue"  was  derived  from  an  il- 
logical association  of  words  and  ideas  which 
arose  before  the  civil  war,  when  free  negroes 
were  called  "free  issue."  These  people  were 
dark,  but  not  slaves  nor  negroes,  but  were 
classed  by  the  whites  somewhat  with  them,  and 

»  Kirke's  Rear-Guard  ef  the  Revolution,  p.  13. 


39^  The  Forest  Primeval 

given  part  of  the  designation  of  free  negroes — 
Issues. 

The  name  "Issues"  is  disUked  by  them,  and 
they  proudly  call  themselves  Indian  men  and 
Indian  women,  and  keep  much  aloof  from  both 
the  whites  and  the  negroes.  The  family  names 
recognized  by  them  are  Johns,  Branham,  Adcox, 
and  Willis,  names  taken  from  the  whites,  and 
one  Indian  name,  Redcross.  They  live  the 
obscure  life  of  agricultural  tenants,  or  small 
farmers.' 

In  the  course  of  the  history  of  the  country  at 
large,  the  relation  of  the  State  of  Virginia  to 
some  of  the  Indian  tribes  presented  many  curi- 
ous phases.  In  1861,  when  the  War  between  the 
States  broke  out,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
of  the  United  States  Government  held  in  trust  for 
the  Choctaw  tribe  of  Indians  registered  bonds  of 
the  State  of  Virginia  amounting  to  ^450,000. 
This  tribe  of  Indians,  living  in  the  southwest, 
had  been  taken  under  the  protectorate  of  the 
Confederate  Government,  as  that  tribe  had 
"united  themselves  with  the  Confederate  Gov- 
ernment."  This  made  them  allies  of  Virginia. 
Interest  was  due,  and  the  Indians  wanted  their 
money,  but  Virginia  would  not  pay  it  to  the 
Federal  authorities  for  them.  The  State  there- 
fore declared  cancelled  the  bonds  as  then  held 
by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  of  the  United 
States,  and  issued  others  in  their  place,  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  Confederate 

'  The  Southern  Churchman,  vol.  Ixxii.,  No.  53. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  397 

States.  And,  in  1864,  a  similar  arrangement 
was  made  with  regard  to  ^90,000  of  bonds,  so 
held  for  the  Cherokee  Indians.' 

The  Cherokee  nation  continued  as  a  poHtical 
body  until  midnight  of  June  30,  1914.  It  was 
then  dissolved.  The  tribal  funds  amounting 
to  ^600,000  was  divided  among  its  forty-one 
thousand  members.  Commissioner  Sells  of  the 
Indian  Office  called  on  that  day  for  the  resigna- 
tion of  all  Cherokee  officials. 

At  the  time  of  its  dissolution  the  Cherokees 
were  the  largest  of  the  five  civilized  tribes. 
Under  the  laws  of  Congress  it  was  intended  that 
all  of  these  civilized  tribes  should  dissolve  as 
nations  in  1906.  Congress,  however,  extended 
the  time  in  the  discretion  of  the  Indian  Office. 

At  the  time  of  its  dissolution  one  of  its  mem- 
bers was  a  Senator  of  the  United  States  from 
Oklahoma,  and  received  about  ^15  as  his  portion 
of  the  tribal  funds. 

The  other  four  nations  which  made  up  the 
"Five  Civilized  Tribes"  were  the  Choctaws, 
Chickasaws,  Creeks,  and  Seminoles. 

Another  powerful  nation  was  the  Ca-taw-bas, 
whose  headquarters  were  on  the  Ca-taw-ba 
River,  in  South  Carolina. 

The  Catawba  River  rises  in  the  Blue  Ridge 
Mountains,  North  Carolina,  near  Morgantown. 
It  runs  east  and  then  south  into  South  Carolina, 
where   it   is   known   for   some   distance   as   the 

'  Acts  1 86 1 -2,  p.  34;  Acts  1863-4,  P-  9' 


398  The  Forest  Primeval 

Wateree,  but  after  the  confluence  of  the  Broad 
River,  it  takes  the  name  of  Santee  and  under 
this  name  empties  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  It 
crosses  the  boundary  line  of  North  and  South 
Carolina  about  at  its  center. 

The  Catawba  territory  stretched  toward  the 
east  from  this  river  to  the  Yadkin,  and  on  the 
west,  by  reason  of  a  treaty  made  with  the  Chero- 
kees,  to  the  Broad  River.  It  lay  on  both  sides 
of  the  boundary  between  North  and  South 
Carolina. 

The  largest  village  of  this  tribe  was  in  York 
County,  South  Carolina,  on  the  Catawba  River. 
This  was  probably  the  place  called  Catawba 
Town  by  the  Virginians. 

The  Catawbas  were  probably  the  bravest  and 
most  enterprising  of  all  the  southern  tribes. 
They  are  known  to  have  gone  as  far  north  as 
Pennsylvania,  to  wage  war  with  the  Five  Nations, 
and  they  repeatedly  engaged  in  battle  with  the 
Northern  Indians  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia.  The 
battle  of  Hanging  Rocks  was  fought  between  this 
nation  and  either  the  Mohawks  or  the  Delawares. ' 

In  1682,  this  tribe  could  put  1500  warriors 
in  the  field.  By  the  year  1756,  from  the  com- 
bined efi^ects  of  small-pox,  and  other  deadly  dis- 
eases, and  from  constant  and  bitter  warfare  with 
the  Iroquois,  Cherokees,  Shawanese,  Delawares, 
and  other  nations,  they  were  reduced  to  about 
four  hundred  fighting  men,  the  remnants  of 
over  twenty  different  tribes. 

'  Peyton's  History  of  Augusta  County,  p.  6. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  399 

Before  this  date,  however,  peace  had  been 
made  between  them  and  the  Cherokees.  The 
Broad  River,  which  still  bounds  Cherokee 
County,  South  Carohna,  on  the  east,  was  made 
the  boundary  between  them.  And  in  175 1, 
their  wars  with  the  Iroquois  were  terminated  by 
a  conference  at  Albany.  But  they  were  still  at 
war  with  western  Indians. 

The  Catawbas  became  firm  allies  of  Virginia. 
They  fought  on  the  side  of  the  colonies  in  the 
war  against  the  Tus-ca-ro-ras,  during  the  years 
171 1,  1712,  and  1713;  and  again  with  them 
against  the  French  and  Indians.  They  failed 
to  keep  their  promise  to  send  a  force  to  assist 
Braddock,  but  fought  on  the  side  of  Virginia 
and  the  Carolinas  against  England  in  the 
Revolutionary  War. 

In  1756,  the  king  of  the  Catawbas  was  Heig- 
ler.  After  having  been  a  firm  friend  of  Virginia, 
he  was  killed  near  his  own  village  by  a  small 
party  of  his  ancient  enemies,  the  Shaw-a-nese,  in 
1762.' 

Other  tribes  to  the  south  were  the  Man-go- 
ags,  the  Chaw-ons,  and  the  We-op-e-medgs, 
the  last  two  on  the  Virginia-Carolina  State  line. 
The  We-op-e-medgs  lived  nearest  the  seacoast, 
the  Chaw-ons  to  the  west  of  them. 

The  colony  also  came  into  contact  with  the 


^  The  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,   vol.    xiii. 
notes  pp.  227,  238,  260. 


400  The  Forest  Primeval 

Delawares,  who  frequented  the  Susquehanna 
River  in  Pennsylvania.' 

They  were  a  powerful  body  of  Indians,  in 
possession  of  the  eastern  part  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  the  whole  of  New  Jersey.  They  do  not  seem 
to  have  occupied  the  State  of  Delaware,  which 
took  its  name  not  from  them,  but  from  Lord 
De  la  War. 

Other  tribes  with  which  Virginia  came  into 
contact  and  sometimes  in  conflict  were  the 
Wyandots,  and  the  Mingoes,  the  latter  a  branch 
of  the  Iroquois  which  had  settled  on  the  Ohio 
and  its  branches.  The  Delawares  and  Shawanese 
were  also  Iroquois  tribes  which  migrated  to  this 
section  about  1728,  coming  from  the  French 
settlements  in  Canada.  The  Miamis  formed 
another  tribe  which  settled  in  what  is  now  Ohio. 
They  were  also  called  Twigh-twees.  They  were 
the  most  powerful  confederacy  of  the  west, 
combined  four  tribes,  and  extended  their  influ- 
ence even  beyond  the  Mississippi.  Their  princi- 
pal town  was  Pi-qua.  The  Chick-a-maw-gas, 
in  Tennessee,  and  the  Six  Nations  of  New  York, 
also  come  before  us,  and  play  their  part  in 
Virginia's  history. 

Among  the  Indian  settlements  which  came 
into  historical  prominence  as  the  colony  extended 
farther  and  farther  west  may  be  mentioned  Shan- 
no-pins  town,  a  Delaware  village,  on  the  south- 
east side  of  the  Alleghany  River,  two  or  three 

'  Peyton's  History  of  Augusta  County,  p.  6. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  401 

miles  above  Pittsburg,  and  Logstown,  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  Ohio.  This  was  later  named 
Fort  Mackintosh,  and  now  the  town  of  Beaver, 
in  the  county  of  that  name,  in  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania,  about  twenty-five  miles  down  the 
river  from  Pittsburg.  This  was  the  stronghold 
of  Tan-a-cha-ris-son,  the  Seneca  chief  of  the 
mixed  tribes  which  had  migrated  to  the  Ohio. 
He  was  surnamed  the  "half-king,"  as  not  wholly 
an  independent  sovereign,  being  still  subordinate 
to  the  Iroquois  Confederacy.  We  meet  with 
him  at  the  period  of  Washington's  journey  to 
Fort  Duquesne. 

Charters  Old  Town  and  Sewickley  Old  Town 
from  ten  to  fifteen  miles  up  the  Alleghany  on  its 
western  shore.  Queen  Al-li-guip-pe's  town,  on  the 
site  of  the  present  McKeesport,  were  also  well- 
known  Indian  towns  in  Pennsylvania,  in  that 
portion  of  it  once  claimed  by  Virginia. 

In  the  old  Virginia  territory  west  of  the  Ohio 
Indian  towns  abounded.  Its  tributary  streams, 
the  Muskingum,  the  Hockhocking  and  the  Scioto 
all  had  their  waters  guarded  by  Indian  towns 
and  villages. 

Virginia's  power  and  influence  having  been 
felt,  and  government  established  by  her  as  far 
west  as  the  Mississippi,  and  northwest  to  the 
Great  Lakes,  she  came  in  contact  with  all  these 
tribes  and  nations  and  many  others. 

In  common  with  the  Indians  in  the  rest  of 
North   America,   these   tribes   and   nations,    as 


402  The  Forest  Primeval 

already  stated,  were  engaged  in  endless  warfare 
among  themselves,  in  the  prosecution  of  which, 
when  they  captured  their  enemies,  they  prac- 
ticed all  the  cruelties  which  a  savage  imagination 
could  suggest.  Among  other  enormities,  they 
sometimes  practiced  cannibahsm.  We  are  told 
in  particular  of  the  Po-cough-tro-nacks,  a  tribe 
which  lived  beyond  the  Falls,  who  ate  men.' 

"These  vagrant  tribes  camped  or  resided  at 
great  distances  from  each  other,  were  widely 
dispersed  over  a  vast  country,  and  any  connec- 
tion between  them  and  particular  localities  was 
of  so  frail  a  texture  that  it  was  broken  by  the 
slightest  accident. 

"The  different  tribes  or  nations  were  small  in 
number  as  compared  with  civilized  societies  in 
which  industry,  arts,  agriculture,  and  commerce 
have  united  a  vast  number  of  individuals  whom 
a  complicated  luxury  renders  valuable  to  each 
other. 

"No  accurate  information  exists  as  to  the 
numbers  composing  these  tribes,  but  it  is  most 
probable  they  did  not  exceed  a  few  hundred 
warriors  each.  At  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims 
in  1620,  the  number  of  Indians  in  New  England 
did  not  exceed  123,000,  and  a  few  years  later  the 
number  was  greatly  reduced  by  a  plague.  It  is 
probable  that  the  Indian  population  of  Virginia 
was  larger  at  this  time,  as  the  climate  of  our 
Valley  and  State  is  generally  better  adapted  to 
the  wants  of  man  than  that  of  New  England. 

'  Smith's  True  Relation,  p.  36. 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  403 

Bancroft,  however,  ventures  the  opinion  that  the 
whole  Indian  population  east  of  the  Mississippi 
and  south  of  New  England  did  not,  in  1620, 
exceed  180,000. 

"Detached  parties  of  armed  barbarians  from 
the  Northern  and  Western  tribes  occasionally 
came  to  the  Valley,  and  the  Mas-sa-wom-ees 
penetrated  to  Eastern  Virginia  and  were  a  terror 
to  the  low-land  tribes.  Armed  parties  also 
visited  the  Valley  from  the  five  nations  situated 
on  the  rivers  and  lakes  of  New  York — the  Mo- 
hawks, 0-nei-das,  0-non-da-gas,  Cay-u-gas, 
and  Sen-e-cas."' 

In  the  course  of  its  laborious,  and  often  tragic, 
westward  progress,  Virginia  came  into  contact 
or  conflict  with  these  many,  and  often  powerful, 
tribes.  War  and  campaigns  followed,  diplomacy 
and  treaties,  conflicting  interests  adjusted,  and 
compromises  agreed  upon,  boundary  lines  es- 
tablished between  the  white  man  and  the  red 
man,  grants  of  land,  and  conquests  of  territory. 

It  also  involved  treaties  of  alliance  and  co- 
operation with  some  of  these  Indian  tribes,  and 
with  the  other  English  settlements,  sometimes 
hampered  by  local  jealousies  and  self-interest. 
Some  of  these  hostile  Indians,  too,  were  not 
unsupported  by  powerful  European  influence. 
France  was  their  ally,  and  Virginia  had  to  con- 
tend with  her  trained  soldiers  as  well  as  with  the 
savage  foe. 

'  Peyton's  History  of  Augusta  County,  pp.  6-7. 


404  The  Forest  Primeval 

The  varying  circumstances  of  this  ever  on- 
ward and  ever  widening  movement  found  Vir- 
ginia now  waging  war  in  the  western  forests, 
to  stop  the  slaughter  of  her  people  on  the  fron- 
tier; building  forts  without  number  and  palisades 
of  enormous  length;  now  sending  troops  to  the 
aid  of  Carolina,  threatened  with  destruction 
by  the  Indians  of  the  south;  or  debating  with 
Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  York  the 
terms  of  a  treaty  between  the  Indians  and  the 
English  Colonies  at  Lancaster  or  Albany. 

Picturesque  figures  move  across  the  stage,  and 
incidents  as  strange,  and  often  as  horrible,  as 
war  only  can  produce,  marked  the  struggle. 

From  movements  of  armed  forces  covering 
the  distance  from  Cape  Henry  to  the  heart 
of  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  from  Carolina 
to  Fort  Duquesne,  down  to  hand-to-hand  en- 
counters in  the  log  cabins  of  the  pioneers,  as  the 
Indians  in  small  bodies  roamed  through  the 
settlements,  the  soil  was  too  often  drenched 
with  the  blood  of  the  contending  races.  It  was 
a  life-and-death  struggle  between  them  for  the 
possession  of  the  very  soil  on  which  they  Hved. 

The  Indians  were  no  mean  antagonists. 
Born  to  war,  and  bearing  pain  and  torture  v\  ith 
stoical  indifference  and  Spartan-like  fortitude, 
the  Indians  of  Virginia  defended  their  possession 
of  the  land  they  had  inherited  as  any  other  war- 
like nation  would  have  done. 

Awed  at  first  by  the  new  foe  they  had  to  deal 
with,  whom   they  regarded  with   superstitious 


The  Tribes  and  Nations  405 

dread,  protected  as  he  was,  also,  by  coats  of  mail 
and  master  of  those  terrific  fire-arms  and  thunder- 
ing cannon,  the  Indians,  during  the  period  of  the 
colony's  greatest  weakness,  were  at  a  disadvan- 
tage. This  became  less  as  time  went  on,  for 
he  became  familiar  with  the  white  man,  and  no 
longer  feared  him  as  he  had.  They  gradually 
became  supplied,  too,  with  similar  arms,  and  the 
old  inequality  between  them  disappeared. 

Thus  the  Indian  power  long  continued  formid- 
able, and  threatened  the  settlements  with  total 
destruction. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

CONCLUSION 

SUCH  was  the  people  which  sparsely  occu- 
pied a  nearly  unbroken  wilderness  among 
whom  was  now  to  be  attempted  the  plant- 
ing of  European  civilization  and  the  Protestant 
form  of  the  Christian  religion. 

It  was  no  small  task  which  was  undertaken. 
These  brave  pioneers  faced  death  in  many  forms. 
They  faced  the  dangers  of  the  sea,  the  dangers 
of  an  unknown  land;  they  faced  sickness,  pri- 
vation, and  enemies  civilized  and  uncivilized. 
They  left  behind  them  the  familiar  scenes  of 
childhood,  their  homes  and  their  kindred,  and 
all  that  men  hold  dear  on  earth.  When  they 
turned  their  ships  toward  the  setting  sun,  and 
began  to  plow  the  deep  waters  of  the  broad 
Atlantic,  how  little  could  they  tell  what  was  in 
store  for  them  in  the  great  unknown  whither  they 
were  sailing,  and  whether  they  would  accomplish 
their  purpose  and  again  behold  the  beloved 
scenes  of  Old  England,  or  leave  their  bones  to 
bleach  upon  the  sands  of  a  distant  continent! 

It  may  be  that  they  fully  realized  the  grandeur 
of  their  work,  and  were  inspired  by  the  thought 
406 


Conclusion  407 

that  they,  as  well  as  the  great  leaders  who  di- 
rected them,  were  actors  in  a  drama  of  world- 
wide significance,  and  that  their  names  and 
their  deeds  would  deserve  to  be  remembered 
by  the  generations  of  their  race  which  were  to 
follow  them — and  we  do  so  honor  and  record 
them. 


INDEX 


Accomac,  special  mode  of  fish- 
ing, 95-96;  towns  in,  152,  155; 
Empress  of,  155;  kingdom  of, 
155,  316;  town  of,  on  site  of 
Cape  Charles,  157;  word,  316; 
tribe,  367-368 
Accounts,  how  kept,  84 
Acquia  Creek,  word,  316 
Adultery,  women  careful  not  to 
be     suspected     of,     34;     how 
women  punished  for,  81,  173; 
unpardonable  offence,  81 ;  how 
men  punished  for,  172,  173 
Adventurers,    meaning    of    the 

word,  22-23 
Agriculture,  conducted  by  the 
women  and  children,  80,  102, 
104;  basis  of  classification  as 
between  barbarous  and  savage, 
IOI-102;  importance  of,  102; 
system  of  corn-planting  and 
gathering,  103-104,  136;  cul- 
tivation of  tobacco,  106-108; 
how  land  cleared  of  trees,  109, 
no,    134;  of  the  Cherokees, 

394 

Ahone,    name    of    the    benign 

deity,  250 
Alexandria,  site  of  Indian  town, 

157 
Algonquin  Indians,  26;  pottery 

of,  1 19-127 
Alleghany,  the  word,  316 
Allies,  Indian,  of  Virginia,  326- 
327,    396,    397,    399;    of    the 
Indians  against  Virginia,  403 
Altar-stones,     see    Pawcorances 
Amherst  County,  some  Chero- 
kees still  in,  395 
Animals  in  the  forest,  28 
Appalachian,  the  word,  316 


Appamattox,  the  town,  155 1 
on  site  of  Petersburg,  157; 
huskanawing  at,  197;  name, 
315,  316;  the  tribe,  324, 
337-338 

Aprons,   women    clothed    with, 

Arbors,  houses  like,  96 

Archery,  skill  in,  96-97 

Aristocratic,  Indian  government, 
133-134,  165,  169 

Arrows,  how  made,  42-43,  112; 
uses,  42-43;  fishing  with,  42, 
95,  98;  heads,  112;  stone,  dis- 
cussed, I13-I14;  where  made, 
I14-119 

Assaomeck,  town  on  site  of  Alex- 
andria, 157 

Assemblies,  see  Public  meetings 

Augusta  County,  tribes  in,  380- 

383 
Authorities,  this  book  based  on, 

vii.-xv. 
Axes,  uses  of,  no;  how  made, 

112;    stone,    discussed,    113- 

114;  where  made,  114-119 


B 


Bacon,  Nathaniel,  in  command 

against     the      Occaneechees, 

379-380 
Bald-eagle  described,  94-95 
Barbecue,  style  of  cooking  meat, 

47,  67-68 
Barbers,  women  as,  33-34,  62 
Bark,  shields  made  of,  112,  173, 

176 
Barlow  quoted,  1 10,  352 
Barrens,The,  in  Augusta  County, 

381-382 
Barrow,  see  Mound 
Barter,  trading  by,  44 


409 


410 


Index 


Baskets,  76;  how  made,  no; 
use  in  pottery-making,  121- 
122,  125 

Bassets,  seat  of  Eltham  at 
Alachot,  151 

Bathing  to  harden,  60 

Battle,  between  the  Patomecks 
and  Massomecks,  176-177;  of 
Point  Pleasant,  won  by  the 
Virginians,  182;  Okee  carried 
into,  243;  of  Hanging  Rocks, 
398 

Beads,  for  coronets,  36,  42,  63; 
use  of,  in  marriage  ceremony, 
77 

Beans,  general  article  of  food, 
68,  73;  widely  cultivated,  73; 
planted  with  the  corn  for  a 
support,  103.      See  Food 

Beards,  Indians  generally  wore 
none,  33;  pulled  out  by  roots, 
36;  some  priests  wore,  233 

Beaufort  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, Indian  town  in,  159 

Beaver,  uses  of,  43;  eaten,  69; 
Pennsylvania,  site  of  Indian 
town,  401 

Bedford  County,  tribes  in  371 

Beds,  of  earth,  130;  of  sticks, 
etc.,  132,  137-138,  140; 
covered  with  mats,  132;  how 
slept  on,  138,  140 

Belts  made  of  peak,  etc.,  46 

Berkeley  County,  West  Virginia, 
tribes  in,  372-373.  388-389 

Bertie  County,  North  Carolina, 
Indian  tribe  in,  158 

Beverley,  Robert,  writings,  xiv.- 
XV.;  quoted,  35,  41,  44,  46,  47, 
56,  57.  59.  60,  62,  63,  64,  67, 
72,  73,  74,  81,  84,  85,  86,  91. 
99,  109,  112,  128,  130,  185, 
194,  231,  233,  234,  243,  253, 
258,  265,  286,  287 

Big  Knives,  the  Indians'  name 
for  the  Virginians,  182 

Black  boys,  a  servant  class,  169 

Board,  children  put  on,  61 

Bodyguard,  Powhatan's,  275; 
Grangenimeo's,  283;  his  wife's 
attendants,   283 

Bonds  of  Virginia  held  by  Choc- 
taws  and  Cherokees,  396-397 

Bones,  chains  of,  61,  63 

Bows,  made  of  locust  wood,  112; 
of  witch-hazel,   II2 


Bracelets,  55 ;  worn  by  men  and 
women  of  condition,  37;  made 
of  pearls  or  beads  of  copper, 
40,  55;  or  of  peak  or  runtees, 
46 
Branches   of    trees   as   clothes, 

64-65,  87 
Bronze  Age,  bodies  burnt,  217 
Brown,  Alexander,  quoted,  ix. 
Brunswick  County,  tribes  in,  379 
Buckingham  County,  tribes  in, 

371 
Bull  Run,  Indian  name  for,  317 
Burial,   customs:   body   put   on 
scaffold,  201-202 ;  body  buried, 
202;  body  burnt,  202;  riches 
buried    with    body,    202-203; 
mourning    for    a   king,    203; 
mounds,  chapter  on,  204-222 ; 
see  Mounds 
Burk  quoted,  80-81,  171-172 
Burnt,     bodies,     217;     offerings 

to  the  Evil  Spirit,  262 
Byrd,    Colonel    \Vm.,    Indians 
lived  in  his  pasture,  155 


Cabins,  picture  of,  57;  for  man 
to  protect  corn,  68;  unclean, 
189 

Cabot,  discovery  of,  foundation 
of  claims  of  England,  2 

Calumet,  or  pipe  of  peace,  49-52 

Calvert  County,  Maryland, 
town  in,  152;  tribes  in,  365 

Camden  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, town  in,  158 

Cannibalism,  402 

Canoes,  of  birch,  48-49;  fishing 
in.  93-96;  of  trunks  of  trees, 
95,  109,  176;  making  of,  log- 
in 

Cape  Charles,  site  of  Indian 
town,  157 

Capital  punishment,  how  in- 
flicted, 172-173 

Caroline  County,  tribes  in,  361 

Carteret  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, Indian  town  in,  159 

Catawba,  tribe,  26,  382-383, 
397-399;  Roanoke  Island 
settlers  came  in  contact  with, 
27;  became  allies  of  Virginia, 
399;  town,  398 

Cattle,  Indians  had  none,  45,  71 


Index 


411 


Ceremony  of  marriage,  break- 
ing string  of  beads  over  joined 
hands,  77;  none  when  presents 
accepted,   79-80 

Chains,  of  pearl,  worn  by  the 
princes,  40;  and  by  women,  59 

Charles  City  County,  towns  in, 
146,  147,  155;  tribes  in,  339 

Cherokees,  a  branch  of  the 
Iroquois,  26;  where  located  in 
Virginia,  324;  the  tribe,  389- 
397;  meaning  of  the  name, 
390-391 

Chesapeake,  houses  of  a,  town, 
150;  name,  315;  river,  317; 
bay,  317;  tribe,  351-353 

Chester  River,  Indian  name  for, 
317 

Chesterfield  County,  tribes  in, 
337 

Chickahominy,  Smith  captured 
on,  97;  town  of,  156,  345; 
word,  316;  river,  317;  tribe, 
341-345;  form  of  govern- 
ment, 342-343;  treaty  with 
Dale,  342-344;  troubles  over 
lands  sold  by  King  of,  344-345 

Chiefs,  see  Weroances 

Childbirth,  women  easily  de- 
livered, 60;  how  child  treated, 
60,  61 

Children,  Indian,  bom  white, 
32,  36,  131;  how  carried,  59- 
60,  62;  how  hardened,  60; 
how  treated  when  born,  60; 
named  by  father,  61;  on 
boards,  61;  greased,  61;  wait 
on  parent,  62;  how  dressed, 
62;  use  of  bow  and  arrow,  62; 
work  of,  75-76;  part  played 
by,  in  agriculture,  80,  102; 
disposition  of  in  divorce,  82; 
large  number  desired,  82 ;  care 
of  sachem,  171;  yearly  sacri- 
fice of,  191,  223-224,  252; 
altar-stones  used  to  instruct, 
230;  sacrifice  of,  due  to  the 
priests,  237 

Chinkapin,  the  word,  323 

Chipoak  Creek,  Indian  name 
for,  317 

Chowan,  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, towns  in,  158;  tribe,  380 

Church  government  vigorous 
in  Virginia,  23-24 

City  of  Refuge,  393 


Civilized  tribes,  397 

Cleopatre,  daughter  of  Powha- 
tan, 274 

Clock,  meaning  of  the  word, 
note,  231 

Cloth,  Indians  made,  125 

Clothes,  mantle,  37;  skins,  40, 
41-42;  fashions,  53-59;  match- 
coats,  57;  deerskins,  62;  of 
women,  64;  thread  for,  95 

Cockarouse,  title  of  honor  for 
bravery,  92;  must  have  been 
huskanawed,  195 

Cockle  shell,  used  as  money,  47; 
as  a  spoon,  75 

Cohongoroota,  river,  315,  363, 
383 

Cohonks,  winters  called,  84; 
years  reckoned  by,  84;  moon 
of,  84 

Colcraft,  Henry  R.,  quoted,  214 

Color,  of  Indians,  32,  36;  partly 
due  to  smoke,  131 

Columbus,  discovery  by,  foun- 
dation of  claims  of  Spain,  2 

Common  people,  given  to  steal- 
ing, 35;  headgear,  -^-j;  clothes, 
37;  bareheaded,  56;  their  souls 
not  believed  to  be  immortal, 
241-242 

Conch  shell,  46,  64 

Confederate  Government,  Choc- 
taws  and  Cherokees  allies  of, 
396-397 

Conjuration,  particular  case  of, 
227-229;  performed  in  the 
Occaneeche  language,  260 

Conjurer,  see  Priests  and  Con- 
jurers 

Cooking,  boiling,  66;  fish,  66; 
meat,  66-67;  done  with  little 
care,  67-68 ;  seasoning  68.  Fee 
Food 

Cooks,  62 

Copper,  chains  and  bracelets  of, 
40,  53,  54,  55,  61,  63 

Corn,  Indian,  47,  73,  74,  76,  80, 
84;  fields,  58,  102;  bread,  68; 
gathering,  84;  moon,  84;  im- 
portance of,  103;  how  planted 
and  gathered,  103-104;  the 
King's,  how  planted  and 
gathered,  104-105,  136;  how 
protected,  136;  annual  feast 
at  corn  gathering,  263-264 

Coronet,  36,  46,  56 


412 


Index 


Council,  great,  of  nation,  power 
of,  171 

Counting,  system  of,  84;  pastime 
involving,  86 

Courtship,  78,  80 

Cowee  range,  266 

Crawford,  Colonel  Wm.,  his 
death,  300-301 

Creation,  Indians'  belief  as  to, 
239-240,  254-258 

Crown,  sent  by  James  I.  to  Pow- 
hatan, use  of,  at  time  of  corn 
planting,  104;  descent  of, 
through  female  line,  170;  kept 
in  the  god's  house  at  Orapax, 
251 

Cruelty  of  the  Indians,  44-45, 
181-182 

Crystal  altar-stone  for  sacrifice, 
253 

Culpeper  County,  tribes  in,  370 

Cumberland  County,  tribes  in, 
371 

Cushaws,  preserved,  69;  de- 
scribed, 73;  cultivated,  73 

Customs,  welcome  to  chief,  43; 
walking,  44 ;  dances,  45 ;  travel- 
ing, 47;  receiving  strangers, 
49-52;  entertaining  strangers 
of  condition,  52 


Dances,  war,  45;  one  arranged 
by  Pocahontas,  64-65;  fea- 
ture of  yearly  festival,  85;  two 
kinds  described,  86-87;  every 
night,  87;  one  like  the  Horn- 

'  pipe,88;atthematchacomoco, 
175;  one  form  of  devotion,  230 

Dare  County,  North  Carolina, 
Indian  town  in,  159 

Day,  how  divided,  84;  none 
more  holy  than  another,  229, 
251-252;  "A,  in  an  Indian 
Village,"  288-309 

Dead,  bodies  of  the  kings,  see 
Mummies;  fate  of  the,  de- 
cided by  Mahomny,  261-262 

De  Bry,  pictures  engraved  by, 
37-39 

Deer,  plentiful,  40;  skins  used 
as  dress,  62;  how  flayed, 
62;  feeding-grounds,  73;  how 
hunted,  97,  99-100;  stalking, 
97-98;    use   of,   when    killed, 


99,  100;  the  Great  Deer,  256- 

257 
Descent  of  the  Crown,  170 
Despotism,   Powhatan's  rule  a, 

165-166,     167-168,     174-175; 

Burk's   statement   as    to   au- 
thority, 171 
Devil   worship,    249,    250,    251, 

252,  259-260;  names  for,  306. 

See  Religion 
District  of  Columbia,  tribe  in, 

xii.;  quarries  and  workshops 

in,  114-119 
Divination    and    enchantment, 

frequency  of,  262 
Divisions,  political,  of  land,  165, 

167 
Divorce,  husband  could  at  will, 

78,  79,  80,  81;  right  of  wife  to, 

80,  81;  children  how  disposed 

of  in  case  of,  82 
Domestic  animals,  lack  of,  71 
Dorchester  County,   Maryland, 

tribes  in,  366 
Drink,     water,     principal,     70; 

appetite  for  strong,  70-71 
Drums,   how  made,   85-86,   87; 

none  used  in  war,  177 
Duffield  match-coat,  57 
Dutch,  love  of  the  Indians  for 

the.  1 80-1 8 1 


Ear-rings,  40,  41,  54,  55,  59 

Eastern  Shore,   towns  on,    155; 

kingdom   of   Accomack,    155, 

316;     Still     Pond,     265-266; 

tribes  on,  366-368 

Echota,     capital     city    of     the 

Cherokees,  391-394 
Edenton,  site  of  Indian  town,  158 
Edict  of  Nantes,  11,  15 
Eltham,  seat  of  the  Bassetts,  151 
Embalming,   47,    198,    199-200. 

See  Mummies 
Empress  of  Accomac,  155 
Enchantment,  frequency  of,  262 
England,  claim  of,  to  Virginia, 
2;   King   of,   at   the   head   of 
movement  to  found  Virginia, 
19-21;  policy  of,  in  regard  to 
the  Indians,  30,  236 
English,    Indian   name  for   the, 
321,      343;      Indian      words 
adopted  into  the,  322-323 


Index 


413 


Ensenore,  mourning  for,  203; 
views  in  regard  to  immor- 
tality of  the  white  men,  242- 

243 

Essex  County,  towns  in,  156; 
tribes  in,  361 

Estates,  private,  on  sites  of 
Indian  villages,  157 

Europe,  condition  of,  in  six- 
teenth and  seventeenth  cen- 
turies, I-15;  powers  of,  which 
laid  claim  to  Virginia,  2-3 


Faces  carved  on  posts,  85,  244, 

249,  264 
Fairfax  County,  tribes  in,  365 
Falls  Church,  Indian  workshop 

near,  117-118 
Falls    of    the   James,    1 61-164; 

Indian  name  for,  316 
Father,  children  named  by,  61; 

daughters      bought      of,      in 

marriage,     77-78;     oaths    on 

manes  of  dead,  248-249 
Fauna    of    the    Virginia    forest, 

28-29 
Fauquier  County,  tribes  in,  370 
Feasts,   how  attended,   40;   one 

described,  85;  held  at  night, 

137 

Feathers  as  ornaments,  37,  39, 

41 

Female,  title  to  the  Crown  by 
descent  through,  170 

Feudal  system,  the  Ind  ans' 
virtually  a,  129 

Field,  picture  of  Indian,  42 

Fire,  always  kept  burning  in 
cabins,  66,  131;  how  lighted, 
66,  109,  III;  water,  70-71; 
every  night  for  amusement, 
87;  fishing,  93-94;  hunting, 
97.  99-100;  always  kept  with 
the  mummies  of  the  kings, 
199 

First  fruits,  262 

Fiscal  system  of  Powhatan, 
165-166,  167 

Fish,  see  Food 

Fishing,  women  enjoy  seeing, 
63;  spring  diet,  71;  chapter 
on,  91-96;  weirs,  91-92,  94, 
95-96,  98;  catching  sturgeon, 
92-93;    by    fire,    93-94;     in 


canoes,     93-96;     hawk,    pic- 
ture of,  94;   nets,   95;   hooks, 
95;  lines,  95;  bait  tied  on,  95; 
shooting  fish  with  arrows,  95, 
98;  in  Accomac,  95-96;  care 
taken  in,  96 
Flora  of  the  Virginia  forest,  28 
Fluvanna  County,  tribes  in,  371 
Flying-squirrels,  73 
Food,   constituted  the  Indians' 
principal       riches,       44,    71; 
amount     consumed,     66,   74, 
76;     grace     before,     74;  but 
little  stored   up,    loi;    waste 
of,   67,    70,    100;    for  various 
seasons,  71-72;  no  cattle  nor 
domestic    fowls,    70-71,     73; 
herbs  not  used  as,  69;  had  no 
salt,  68;  used  ash  of  hickory, 
etc.,  for  seasoning,  68;  cooks, 
62;  how  cooked  and  served, 
47,  66,  67,  68,  70,  74-75,  76; 
ail  sorts  of  flesh  used  as,  68, 
76;  feasts,  40,  85,  139;  some 
mentioned: 
acorns,  71 
apricots,  73 
beans,  68,  73,  103 
bear's  oil,   sauce  for  dried 

meat,  47 
beaver,  68 

bread,  made  of  corn,  wild 
oats,  sunflower  seed,  68 ;  or 
tuckahoe,  70;  how  baked, 
68,  "Ji;  eaten  alone,  68 
cherries,  73 
chinkapins,  69 
corn,  see  Com 
crabs,  ^1-72 
cushaws,  69,  73 
dried  fish,  flesh,  and  oysters, 

72 
earthnuts,  69 

fish,    quantity    of,    40,    73; 
how  dressed,  66,  68;  how 
cooked,  66,  67,  74;  season 
for,  71-72 
goats,  73 
gourds,  73 
grapes,  73 
grubs,  68 
hominy,  67,  74 
macocks,  73 
maracocks,  73 
matcocks,  69 
melons,  69,  72-73,  102 


414 


Index 


Food — Continued 

mulberries,  71-72 

muskmelons,  73 

nectarines,  72-73 

nuts,  69,  71 

oil    of    acorns,    sauce    for 
dried  meats,  47,  69,  71 

onions,  wild,  69 

oysters,  71-72 

peaches,  69,  73 

peas,  68,  73 

plums,  73-74 

potatoes,  73 

pulse,  68 

pumpkins,  69,  73,  102 

roasting  ears,  68-69 

rockahomonie,    for    travel- 
ing,  47-48 

roots,  69-70 

simlins,  y^ 

snakes,  68 

squirrels,  71,  73 

strawberries,  69,  71-72 

terrapin,  68,  71-72 

tocknough  berries,  72 

tortoise,  land,  72 

truffles,  69 

tuckahoe,  69-70 

turkeys,  71 

turtles,  68 

venison,  76 

walnuts,  69,  71,  73 

wasps,  68 

water,  pond,  preferred,  70 

watermelons,  73 

wheat,  a  kind  of,  73 
Football,  88 
Forest,  covered  with  grapevines, 

27;  principal  trees,  28;  flora 

and  fauna  of,  28-29;  often 

uninhabited,  96;  clear  of  un- 
derbrush around  the  towns, 

138 
Fort,  West's,   144;  Algemoone, 
148;    at    Warascoyack,    349; 
Mackintosh,  401 
Forum,  one  in  each  town,   87, 

134.  135.  136-137  ^ 
Fowls,  abundance  of,  73;  no 
chickens  nor  peacocks,  73; 
how  hunted,  99;  how  dressed, 
68.  See  Food 
France,  claim  of,  to  Virginia,  2; 
poHcy  of,  in  regard  to  the 
Indians,  30;  an  ally  of  the 
Indians,  403 


Frederick  County,  tribes  in, 
380-381;  towns  in,  386 

Fredericksburg,  site  of  Indian 
town,  157 

Freedom  of  religion,  involved  in 
wars  of  sixteenth  and  seven- 
teenth centuries,  and  in  the 
colonization  of  Virginia,  4-15; 
existed  nowhere  at  that  time, 
18 

Fruits,  see  Food 

Funeral,  rites,  chapter  on,  198- 
203 

Furs,  wreath  of,  37;  for  use,  45 


Game,  seasons  for,  71-72;  kinds 
of.  73,  97;  where  found,  96; 
part  of  most  valued,  99,  100; 
fowls  abundant,  99;  large,  how 
hunted,  99-100.     See  Hunting 

Gates  County,  North  Carolina, 
Indian  town  in,  158 

Gloucester  Count}',  towns  in, 
142,  145-146;  tribes  in,  355 

Glover,  Thomas,  writings,  xiv.; 
quoted,  45,  93,  106,  129,  189, 
202,  235 

Glue,  of  deer  sinews  and  horns, 
43,  112;  of  turpentine,  112 

God,  see  Religion 

Gourds,  62,  73,  75;  for  rattles, 
86,  87;  use  in  pottery -making, 
121-122 

Government,  feudal  in  its  na- 
ture, 129;  of  the  Indians,  aris- 
tocratic, 133-134;  essentially 
a  hierarchy,  165,  173;  Powha- 
tan's, despotic,  166;  taxes  of, 
under  Powhatan,  oppressive, 
167;  descent  of  the  Crown,  170; 
of  the  Chickahominies,  342- 
343;  of  the  Cherokees,  391- 
392;  poHtical  connection  be- 
tween the  tribes  weak,  402 

Grangenimeo,  brother  of  Pemisa- 
pan,  283 

Grapevines,  profusion  of,  27-28 

Graves,  pottery  found  in,  120; 
Indian  in  northwestern  part 
of  State,  381-389 

Greasing,  of  the  hair,  36; 
children,  61 

Great,  Hare,  leg  nd  of  the,  255- 
258;  Deer,  legend  of,  256-257 


Index 


415 


Greensville   County,    tribes    in, 

379 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  13 


H 


Hair,  of  Indians,  black,  33;  men's, 
half  shaven,  33-34,  54-55; 
worn  long,  39;  cut  fancifully 
and  painted,  36;  tied  in  knot 
under  ears,  39;  cut  like  a 
cock's  comb,  39-40,  41,  57; 
few  beards,  54,  57;  front  part 
of  women's  cut  short,  58; 
women's  put  up  in  knot,  61 ; 
of  maids  cut  short  in  front 
and  sides,  63;  of  married 
women  all  long,  63 

Hammer,  weapon  like  a,  176 

Hamor,  Ralph,  writings,  xiii.; 
quoted,  151 

Hampshire  County,  West  Vir- 
ginia, Indian  relics  in,  384- 
385 

Hampton,  Indian  fields  at,  102; 
site  of  Indian  town,  157 

Hanover  County,  towns  in,  149, 
153;  tribes  in,  338 

Happy  hunting  grounds,  261- 
262 

Hare,  native  animal,  73;  the 
Great,  legend  of,  255-258 

Hariot,  Thomas,  writings,  vii.; 
sent  over  by  Raleigh,  vii.; 
pictures,  37-39;  quoted,  39,  40, 
55,  57,  61,  62,  65,  66,  76, 
85,  105,  134,  135,  201,  230, 
239 

Heaven,  the  Indians*  belief  in 
regard  to,  240,  241-242,  257- 
258,  261-262;  Indian  word  for, 
306.     See  Religion 

Hell,  the  Indians'  belief  in  regard 
to,  240,  241,  261-262;  words 
for,  240,  306.     See  Religion 

Henrico  County,  towns  in,  145, 
325;  tribes  in,  324-325,  337 

Henry  III.  on  throne  of  France 
when  this  history  begins,  3 

Henry  IV.  assassinated,  12 

Heraldry,  marks  on  the  body  in 
the  nature  of  coats  of  arms, 
42 

Hertford  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, Indian  town  in,  158 

Hickory,  ash  of,  for  seasoning 


food,  68;  nuts,  69;  liquor 
made  from,  69;  Indian  name 
for  milk,  69;  the  word,  adopted 
into  the  English,  323 

Holmes,  W.  H.,  quoted,  119 

Holy  days,  none  specially  ob- 
served, 229,  251-252 

Hours,  no  distinction  of,  84 

Houses,  and  towns,  chapter  on, 
128-140;  string  used  in  con- 
struction of,  95;  for  hunting, 
96,  loi,  139-140;  corn  stored 
in  dwelling,  104;  axes  and 
hatchets  used  in  building,  1 10; 
Indians  lived  in,  128;  not 
tents,  138;  set  about  the 
towns  irregularly,  130,  134, 
139;  how  built,  130-132,  133, 
139;  fire  in,  131,  137,  140; 
only  one  room,  131,  135; 
flowers  near,  133;  built  by 
the  rivers,  137;  all  of  one 
pattern,  139;  built  under 
trees,  139;  king's  larger,  139; 
scsna  by,  140;  not  kept  clean, 
189;  grand  council,  of  the 
Cherokees,  394 

Howe  quoted,  212-216 

Hunger,  Indians  patient  of,  70; 
effect  of,  reduced  by  tightening 
their  girdles,  70 

Hunting,  chapter  on,  96-101;  of 
deer,  favorite  sport,  40,  97- 
98, 99-100;  care  taken  in,  96; 
how  conducted,  96,  97,  99, 
loo-ioi;  houses  built  for,  96, 
loi,  139-140;  use  of  fire  in,  97, 
99-100;  deer-stalking,  97-98; 
of  fowls,  99 

Husband,  duties  of,  80;  effect 
of  plurality  of  wives  on,  82- 
83 

Huskanawing,  chapter  on,  191- 
197;  where  done,  144,191,  196, 
197;  how  often  practiced,  191, 
195;  only  the  choicest  youths 
selected  for,  195;  essence  of 
the  rite,  195-196;  cockarouses 
and  priests  must  have  been 
through,  195;  wysoccan,a  mad 
potion  given  in,  196;  those 
treated  must  forget  the  past, 
196-197;  Okee's  part  in,  193- 
194,  197 

Hyde  County,  North  Carolina, 
towns  in,  157,  159 


4i6 


Index 


Idols,  see  Religion 

Ill-breeding  punished  by  the 
weroances,  i68 

Immortality  of  the  soul,  see 
Religion 

Indian,  file,  44;  fashion  and 
domestic  construction  of,  so- 
ciety, 53-76;  summer,  89-90; 
old  fields,  102,  134;  chiefs,  see 
Weroances;  towns,  see  Towns; 
names  of  places  in  Virginia, 
318-320;  words  adopted  into 
the  English,  322-323;  relics  in 
northwestern  part  of  the 
State,  383-388;  allies  of  Vir- 
ginia: Pamunkeys,  326-327; 
Choctaws,  396;  Cherokees, 
397;  Catawbas,  399.  See 
Indians 

Indians,  character  of,  chapter 
on,  25-52;  in  Virginia  belonged 
to  the  neolithic  Stone  Age,  25; 
classed  as  barbarous,  25;  of 
the  Algonquin  stock,  26;  dis- 
tribution of,  in  eastern  part  of 
the  United  States,  26-27;  at 
war  among  themselves,  27, 
129,  173.  382-383,  401-402; 
character  and  attainments, 
29-30,  34.  174.  1757176,  181- 
182;  policies  of  Spain,  France, 
and  England  in  relation  to  the, 
30;  color  and  features,  31-32, 
36,  59.  63,  131 ;  hair,  33,  36,  39, 
41;  paints  used  by,  32-33; 
clothes,  37,  41-42;  shoes,  37; 
marked  on  the  back,  40-41; 
all  lived  in  towns,  128-129; 
able-bodied,  33,  35-36;  long- 
lived,  44,  76;  most  frequent 
diseases  of,  185-190;  patient 
of  hunger,  70;  moderate  in 
eating,  66,  76;  excessive  in 
eating,  74;  bodies  alter  with 
their  diet,  72;  wasteful,  67,  70, 
100;  prone  to  drunkenness, 
70-71;  cruel,  44-45,  181-182, 
300-301;  care-free  original 
condition,  98-99,  100;  eco- 
nomic effect  produced  by  the 
coming  of  the  English,  loi; 
marriage  among,  77-83 ;  occu- 
pations of  men  and  women, 
75~76,    102,    104,    no;  quar- 


ries and  workshops,  114-119; 
manufactures,  125;  as  traders, 
34-35;  standard  of  honesty, 
35;  differences  in  language, 
see  Language;  in  council,  170, 
177-178,  179-181;  the  Vir- 
ginians adopted  forms  of 
speech  of,  178-179;  called  the 
English  by  their  first  names, 
322;  all  except  the  priests 
protected  by  the  orders  of 
King  James,  236;  love  of  the, 
for  the  Dutch,  180-181;  re- 
servations for,  327,  336; 
trustees  appointed  for,  351; 
troubles  caused  by  northern, 
375-376;  characteristics  of 
the  southern,  390 
Injury,     never     forgotten,     34; 

revenge  for,  35 
Interpreter,  Spelman,  an,  xii. 
Interruption,      punished,      168; 
none  in  public  meetings,  177- 
178 
Iron,  Indians  lacked,  112 
Isle  of  Wight  County,  town  in, 

149;  tribes  in,  348 
"Issues, "  some  Cherokees  called, 
395-396 


J 


James  I.,  the  head  of  the  move- 
ment to  found  Virginia,  19- 
21;  sent  crown,  etc.,  to  Pow- 
hatan, 104,  251;  Powhatan 
protected  by  orders  of,  236 

James  City  County,  towns  in, 
144-145,  146,  149;  tribes  in, 
339.  341 

James  River,  falls  of,  161-164; 
Indian  name  f or,  3 1 6 ;  tribes  on, 

339-355,  369-371 

Jamestown,  in  the  territory  of 
the  Paspaheghs,  339 

Jefferson  quoted,  204-210 

Johah,  shout  of  approbation, 
180 

Jones  quoted,  35,  44,  55,  74, 
79,  81,  134,  261 

Jopassus,  Spelman  lived  with, 
xi.;  sold  Spelman  to  Argall, 
xii.;  account  of  creation,  254- 
258;  brother  of  Powhatan, 
272;  King  of  the  Potoniacs, 
363 


Index 


417 


K 

Kanawha,  name,  315 

Kecoughtan,  Indian  fields  at, 
102,  354;  described  and  de- 
stroyed, 148;  site  of  Hampton, 
I57i  317;  sacrifice  of  children 
at,  191;  tribe,  353-355;  town, 
354-355;  conquest  of,  354- 
355;  tribe  transported  to 
Pavankatank,  358-359 

Keightley  quoted,  288 

Kent  County,  Maryland,  town 
in,  151 

Kentucky,  name,  315 

Kercheval  quoted,  89,  383 

Kewas,  an  idol,  see  Religion 

Kewasowok,  plural  of  Kewas, 
240 

King,  title  of,  168;  the  embalmed 
kings,  and  funeral  rites, 
chapter  on,  198-203;  the 
Laughing,  274,  367;  the  Half 
King,  391,  401;  Indian  Kings, 
see  Weroances 

King  George  County,  tribes  in, 
360,  361 

King  William  County,  Pamun- 
keys  Hve  in,  327;  Mattaponys 
live  in,  336-337 

King  and  Queen  County, 
Beverley^lived  in,  xv. ;  town  in, 
151 

King  William  County,  towns  in, 
.156 

Kingdom,  of  Accomack,  155, 
316;  term  may  apply  to  small 
number,  156 

Kiskiack,  town,  146,  356;  tribe, 
355;  allowed  to  have  guns, 
356;  their  land  secured  to 
them,  356;  owned  land  at 
Payankatank,  356 

Kiwasa,  or  Kewasa,  an  idol, 
see  Religion 


Lancaster  County,  town  in, 
147;  tribes  in,  359-36o,  361 

Land,  separate  use  of,  133,  139, 
168;  size  of  tracts  of,  138; 
separate  tracts  for  tribes, 
I39f  165,  167;  conveyed  by 
the  weroances,  169;  tribal, 
325;  sales  of,  by  King  of  the 


Chickahominy  tribe,  344- 
345;  secured  to  the  Kis- 
kiacks,  356;  disputes  in  rela- 
tion to,  adjusted,  356,  360- 
361,  363-364;  secured  to  the 
Rappahannocks,  360-361; 
controversy  with  the  King  of 
the  Potomacs,  363-365;  of  the 
Gingaskins,  366-367;  secured 
to  the  Accomacks,  368;  of  the 
Nottoways,  376-379;  un- 
occupied, between  the  moun- 
tains and  the  Mississippi,  395 

Lane,  map  of  expedition  of,  160; 
quoted,  239,  242,  351,352 

Language,  diflferences  in,  very 
great,  33;  each  town  had  sepa- 
rate, 134,  285-286,  287;  no 
written,  285;  that  of  the 
Occaneeches  a  general,  286; 
long  words,  286-288;  paucity 
of  the  Indian,  287;  "A  Day 
in  an  Indian  Village,"  288- 
309;  "The  Lovers'  Quarrel," 
309-311;  "The  Troublesome 
Traveler,"  312-314;  "The 
Quarrelsome  Chiefs,"  314; 
names  of  places,  meaning  of, 
315-316;  other  Indian  names 
of  places,  etc.,  316-320;  In- 
dian verses,  320-322;  words 
adopted  into  the  English, 
322-323 

Laughmg  Kmg,  274,  367 

Laws,  political,  and  art  of  war, 
chapter  on,  165-182;  no 
written,  167-168;  will  of  the 
chief  is  law,  167-168;  title  to 
the  crown,  170;  enforcement 
of  criminal,  172-173;  Indians 
not  without,  172;  how  sum- 
moned for  war,  174-175 

Leaves,  not  used  as  food,  69; 
as  covering,  64-65,  87 

Letters,  Indians  had  none,  167 

Liquor,  made  from  hickory  nuts, 
69;  no  other  drinks,  70; 
Indians'  fondness  for,  70-71 

Loggs  Town,  seat  of  Queen  AUi- 
guippe,  179 

London  Company,  established 
Virginia,  21;  overthrown  by 
the  King,  21 

Longevity,  Indian  over  160 
years  old,  44;  general  among 
the  Indians,  76 


4i8 


Index 


Louisa  County,  tribes  in,  370- 

371 

"Lovers',   The,  Quarrel,"   309- 

311 

M 

Machicomuck,  the  temple,  240 
Matchacomoco,  a  grand  council, 

175 
Machot,  town,  1 51-152 
Machumps  says  grace  at  Dale's, 

74 
Macocks,  a  kind  of  pumpkin,  73 ; 

for  rattles,  87 
Mahomny,  the  god  who  decides 

the   fate   of   the   dead,    261- 

262,  305 
Mamanahunt,  site  of,   146;  not 

at     first     under     Powhatan's 

rule,  147 
Manakins,    where   settled,    324, 

369-370;  tribes  ruled  by,  370- 

371 

Mannahoacks,  tribes  ruled  by 
the,  369-370 

Mantles  of  turkey-feathers,  53 

Map,  Smith's,  141;  of  towns  in 
Virginia,  142;  of  towns  in 
North  Carolina,  160;  de  Brys, 
160 

Maracock,  fruit  of  the  passion 
flower,  73 

Marietta,  mound  at,  210-21 1 

Marks,  on  the  backs  of  Indians, 
40-41,  42 

Marriage,  chapter  on,  77-83; 
wives  bought,  77,  78;  cere- 
mony of,  77,  79-80;  of  the 
kings,  78;  courtship,  77-80; 
polygamy,  77,  78,  79,  80; 
duties  of  the  consorts,  80;  di- 
vorce, 78,  79,  80,  81 

Married  women,  how  distin- 
guished from  maids,  63;  see 
Wives 

Maryland  founded,  14;  freedom 
of  religion  compulsory  in, 
under  its  charter,  18;  trade 
with,  prohibited,  375-376 

Massachusetts,  difference  be- 
tween, and  Virginia,  15-18 

Massomeck,  battle  between,  and 
Potomac,  176-177 

Matachanna,  daughter  of  Powha- 
tan, 274 


Match-coats,  large  mantles,  37; 
formerly  worn  only  by  the 
old,  57;  meaning  of,  58;  chil- 
dren carried  in,  59-60;  used  as 
mats,  131 

Matcocks,  fruit  of  the  passion 
flower,  69 

Materia  medica,  knowledge  of 
the  priests,  186;  roots  and 
barks  of  trees,  187,  188-189; 
Indian  medicine  very  strong, 
189;  given  in  large  doses,  190; 
antidote  for  snake-bites,  186, 
190;  mad  potion  for  huska- 
nawing,  195-196;  wighsacan 
a  purgative,  184;  puccoon  used 
as  a  medicine,  188-189,  229 

Mats,  used  to  sit  on,  62,  75,  131; 
picture  of,  75;  made  by 
women,  76;  made  of  bents, 
76;  used  for  doors  and  parti- 
tions in  houses,  131;  covering 
for  beds,  132;  carried  about 
for  hunting-houses,  139-140; 
interior  of  temples  divided  by, 
245 

McGee,  W.  J.,  quoted,  161-164 

McKeesport,  Pennsylvania,  site 
of  Indian  town,  401 

Mattapament,  town,  152  river, 
317;  tribe,  324,  336;  see 
IMattaponys 

Mattapamients,  the  tribe,  324, 
336,  366;  see  Mattapony 

Mattapony,  river,  317;  the 
tribe,  336-337;    still  existent, 

337 

Meat,  see  Food 

Mecklenburg  County,  tribes  in, 
379 

Medicine,  Indian  practices  in 
regard  to,  183-190;  knowledge 
of,  monopolized  by  the  priests, 
183,  186-187,  194;  use  of 
rattles,  183,  185;  treatment  of 
wounds,  183-184,  190;  treat- 
ment of  ulcers,  hurts,  and 
swellings,  184,  185,  190;  pur- 
gation, 184;  dropsy,  184; 
sweating,  184,  185,  187; 
sweating  -  house,  187-188; 
swellings  how  treated,  185; 
use  of  sucking,  185;  use  of 
charms,  185;  use  of  burning 
wood,  185-186;  use  of  smoking 
and    scratching,    186;    snake- 


Index 


419 


Medicine — Continued 

bites,  186-187,  190;  vomiting 
a  bad  omen,  190;  bleeding  or 
cupping  not  used,  190;  frac- 
tures cured,  190;  see  Materia 
Medica 

Meherrin,     tribe,    379;      river, 
tribes  on,  379,  380 

Metaphor,  Indian  fondness  for, 
178-181 

Miami,  tribe,  26;  word,  316 

Middlesex    County,    tribes    in, 
358-359 

Milk  called  hickory,  69 

Mob  jack  Bay,  317 

Moccasins,  shoes,  how  made,  37, 

56-57 
Monacans,  see  Manakins 
Money,  made  of  conch  shell,  46; 

fixed     in    value,     47;     wives 

bought  with,  77 
Montoac,  name  of  many  gods, 

239.     See  Religion 
Months  counted  by  moons,  84 
Moons,  months  counted  by,  84; 

names  of,  84 
Morters   made  by  women   and 

children,  76 
Mounds,    one   opened    by    Mr. 

Jefferson,  204-210;  theories  in 

regard  to  origin  of,  204-205; 

well   known   to   the   Indians, 

209;   some  located,   209-210; 

one    at    Marietta,    210-21 1; 

one  at  Moundsville,  211-222; 

stone  found  in  215-216;  origin 

of  those  in  Virginia,  222;  in 

the  Valley  of  Virginia,  381- 

389 
Moundsville,    mound    at,    211- 

221 
Mount  Vernon,  town  near,  365 
Mourning  for  the  dead  Kings, 

203 
Mummies,  bodies  preserved  by 

barbecuing,  47;  of  the  kings, 

how  protected,  132,  198,  200, 

201,    251;    another    mode    of 

E reservation,  198-200;  where 
ept,    199,  249-250;  guarded 
by  the    priests,    who    stayed 
with  them,  199,  200;  removed 
by  the  Indians,  203,  253 
Murder,    how    punished,     172; 

rare,  173 
Music,  pastime,  86;  singing,  86; 


every  night,  87;  instruments 

of,  85-86,  87 
Musical  instruments,  pipes,  85; 

drums,  85-86,  87;  rattles,  86, 

87;  no  trumpets,  177 
Muskingum,  word,  316 


N 


Nails,  length  of  Indian  women's, 
59;  kept  long  to  skin  deer,  62 

Names,  given  by  parents,  60; 
soon  given  to  child,  61 ;  given 
by  father,  61;  meaning  of,  of 
places,  315-316;  Indian,  for 
places,  etc.,  316-320;  origin 
of  Powhatan,  269,  358;  origin 
of  Opechancanough,  358;  ori- 
gin of  names  of  the  tribes,  142, 
368-369;  Indians  used  only 
first  names  of  the  English,  322 

Nansemond,  town,  149;  towns 
in,  149,  156;  the  name,  315; 
river,  317;  tribe,  350-351; 
tribes  in,  350,  376-379 

Nation,  term  may  apply  to 
small  number,  1 56.    See  Tribes 

Necklaces,  worn  by  ladies  of 
distinction,  64 

Nets,  fish,  and  other  kinds  made, 
125 

New  England  settled,  13 

New  Kent  County,  tribes  in, 
341-342 

Newport,  Capt.  Christopher, 
commander  of  second  expe- 
dition to  Virginia,  19 

Norfolk,  site  of  Indian  town,  157 

Norfolk  County,  Indian  tribe 
in,  351-353 

Northampton  County,  towns 
in, 152, 1 55; tribes  in, 366-367 

Northumberland,  County,  towns 
in,  156 

Nuns,  faces  like,  on  posts,  85, 
244,  249,  264 


Oaths,  the  keeping  of,  248-249; 
on  manes  of  dead  father,  248- 
249 

Occaneeches,  adoration  and  con- 
juration performed  in  lan- 
guage of,  260;  theirs  a  general 
language,  286;  tribe,  379 


420 


Index 


Ohio,  name,  315;  Indian  towns 
on,  401 

Oil,  of  acorns,  sauce  to  dry  meat, 
47;  bear's,  same  use,  47; 
women  keep  skin  clean  with, 
64;  no  sweet  oils,  etc.,  used 
in  embalming,  199;  used  to 
keep  the  skin  of  the  mummies 
from  shrinking,  200 

Okee,  see  Religion 

Old  Fields,  Indian,  English 
name  for  their  tracts,  102; 
always  fertile,  102,  134 

Opechancanough,  whether  a 
brother  of  Powhatan,  268, 
271-272;  Pepisco  steals  one 
of  his  women,  346-347 ;  origin 
of  his  name,  358;  see  also  xii., 
145,147,151,283,326 

Opitchapan  succeeded  his 
brother  Powhatan,  271-272 

Orange,  the  Prince  of,  life-work 
and  death,  5-9 

Orange  County,  tribes  in,  370 

Orapax,  town,  152;  Cakeres  an 
idol  at,  251;  crown  and  other 
articles  kept  at,  251;  tribe, 
357;  Powhatan  weroance  of, 

357 
Origin  of  the  world  and  mankind, 

239-240,  254-258 
Oysters,  pearl  gotten  from,  47; 

as    food,    71-72;    abundance 

and  size,  72 ;  dried,  72 


Page  County,  Indian  towns  in, 

^    386  , 

Paint,  Indians  decorated  with, 
36,  40,  56,  64,  175 

Palisade,  ^picture  of,  58;  sur- 
rounded most  towns,  130,  132, 
134;  what  kept  within,  132 

Pamlico  County,  North  Caro- 
lina, Indian  town  in,  159 

Pamunkey,  place,  44;  corn  de- 
stroyed at,  in  1624,  103;  river 
now  the  York,  142,  317,  326; 
present,  river,  formerly  the 
Youghtamund,  170,  326; 
towns  of,  in  1705,  156;  husk- 
ana  wing  at,  196,  197;  still  in 
possession  of  principal  seat  of 
thepriests,  226-227;  the  name, 
315;  the  tribe,  324,  326-336; 


visit  to  the  Reservation,  327- 
336 

Paquippe  lake,  61 

Parkman  referred  to  in  connec- 
tion with  Indian  burials,  222 

Pastimes,  watching  fishing,  etc., 
59,  63;  yearly  feast,  85;  sing- 
ing, music,  and  games,  86; 
nightly  music  and  dancing,  87; 
one  form  of  dance,  88,  foot- 
ball, 88;  kicking  small  ball,  88 

Patapsco,  name,  315 

Patuxent,  town,  152;  name,  315; 
river,  317;  tribes  on  the,  365- 
366;  tribe,  365 

Pawcorances,  sacrifices  made  on 
them,  230;  the  crystal  altar- 
stone,  253-254;  commemo- 
rated events  by,  230, 254;  used 
to  instruct  children,  254;  the 
bird  called,  254 

Pawwawing  days,  90;  sorceries  of 
the  Indians  so  called,  233 

Payankatank,  river,  317;  coun- 
try peopled  by  the  Kecough- 
tans,  354-355;  the  Kiskiacks 
owned  land  at,  356;  tribes  on, 
358-359;  tribe,  358-3591  de- 
stroyed by  Powhatan,  358- 
359     .  .        ^ 

Peace,  pipe  of,  49-52 ;  making  of 
treaties  of,  178;  how  marked, 
178 

Peak,  for  coronets,  36-37,  56; 
for  necklaces  and  bracelets,  42, 
64;  valued  for  ornament,  45; 
various  uses  of,  46;  passed  as 
money,  46,  306;  made  from 
the  conch  shell,  64 

Pearls,  chains  and  bracelets  of, 
worn  by  princes,  40,  55; 
supply  of,  47;  worn  by  virgins 
of  good  parentage,  62-63; 
buried  with  the  dead,  202- 
203 

Pepisco,  romance  of,  346-347 

Percy,  Capt.  Geo.,  writings,  viii.; 
at  a  huskanawing,  191 ;  quoted, 
248 

Perquimans  County,  North 
Carolina,  town  in,  158 

Petersburg,  site  of  Indian  town, 
157 

Philip  II.  on  throne  of  Spain 
when  this  history  begins,  3; 
the  enemy  of  Virginia,  1 1 


Index 


421 


Philip  III.,  the  enemy  of  Vir- 
ginia, 1 1 

Pictures,  White's,  37-39,  124 

Pilgrim  Fathers,  15-18 

Piney  Branch,  workshop  on, 
114-I16 

Pipes,  of  conch  shell,  46;  of 
peace,  49-52;  for  music,  85; 
of  clay,  122 

Places,  Indian  names  for,  315- 
320 

Pocahontas,  dance  arranged  by, 
64-65;  daughter  of  Powhatan, 
273,  274;  name,  274,  315; 
Opachisco  her  uncle,  275 

Pochone,  see  Puccoon 

Pocomoke,  name,  316 

Pocones,  see  Puccoon 

Poetry,  specimen  of  Indian,  320- 
322 

Point  Pleasant,  battle  of,  won 
by  the  Virginians,  182 

Political  laws,  and  the  art  of 
war,  chapter  on,  165-182; 
title  to  the  crown,  170;  wero- 
ance  and  sachem,  170-171; 
connection  between  the  tribes 
was  weak,  402 

Polygamy,  custom,  77,  80;  on 
the  part  of  the  kings,  78; 
status  of  wives,  79 ;  reason  for, 
82;  effect  on  the  husbands, 
82-83 

Pomeiock,  pictures  relating  to, 
36-39,  135;  Indians  of,  how 
marked,  41 ;  aged  men  of,  how 
dressed,  57;  chief  women  of, 
how  dressed,  61 ;  described, 
134-135;  mentioned,   157 

Pompions,  cultivated,  69,  73; 
shells  for  rattles,  86 

Pond,  water  preferred,  70;  arti- 
ficial for  water  supply,  135 

Popogusso,  Hell,  240,  241,  261- 
262 

Population,  not  so  great  here  as 
in  West  Indies,  82;  greater 
than  supposed,  130;  estimates 
of,   279-280,   402-403 

Posts,  faces  carved  on,  85,  244, 
249,  264 

Potomac,  town,  151;  battle  with 
Massomeck,  176-177;  Quio- 
quascacke  a  god  of  the,  coun- 
try, 251 ;  the  name,  315;  river, 
317;  tribe,  362;  tribes  on  the. 


xii.,  362-366,  371-372,  373. 
383 

Pots,  how  set  for  cooking,  66; 
made  of  clay,  no,  1 19-127; 
general  form  of,  122;  uses  of, 
123.     See  Pottery 

Pottery,  made  by  women,  65- 
66,  76;  manufacture  of,  119- 
127;  decoration  of,  123-127; 
relation  to  basketry,   125 

Pouncing,  general  custom,  40, 
53-54,  56,  58-59.  61;  nation- 
ality shown  by,  42;  described 
by  Strachey,  59;  how  done, 
63;  designs  of,  on  body,  same 
as  that  on  pottery,  124 

Powhatan,  origin  of  the  name, 
144,  269,  358;  other  names 
given  him,  269;  origin  of  his 
family,  268;  where  born,  267- 
268;  belonged  to  the  Powha- 
tan tribe,  324;  eighty  years 
old  when  the  English  came, 
267;  personal  appearance,  267; 
temperament,  270-271;  four 
brothers  and  two  sisters,  170, 
271-272;  three  brothers  lived 
at  Pamunkey,  170;  his  wives, 
272,  273,  276 ;  care  of  his  wives 
78;  his  children,  272-274,  346; 
one  of  his  councilors,  274; 
inherited  rule  over  six  tribes, 
268,  270;  his  bodyguard,  275; 
the  night-watch,  275;  his 
treasure-house,  275-276;  his 
chief  holy  house,  224-225; 
regarded  as  a  demigod,  166; 
his  power,  276;  territory  con- 
quered by  him,  270;  bounds 
of  his  empire,  269-270;  popu- 
lation of  his  empire,  279-280; 
number  of  kings  under  him, 
268-269,  276;  tribes  subject 
to  him,  324-368;  despotic 
rule  of  166,  342;  his  priests 
responsible  for  destruction  of 
the  Roanoke  Island  settle- 
ment, 235-236;  destroyed  the 
Chesapeaks,  353 ;  destroyed 
the  Payankatanks,  358-359; 
Mamanahunt  long  indepen- 
dent of  him,  146-147;  fiscal 
system,  165-166,  167;  op- 
pressive taxes,  167;  punish- 
ments ordered  by,  277-278; 
had  many  enemies,   173;  was 


422 


Index 


Po  whatan —  Continued 

weroance  of  the  Orapax  tribe, 
357;  Werowocomoco  favorite 
residence,  142 ;  resided  at  Mac- 
hot,  152;  owned  Orapax,  152; 
offered  to  sell  Capahowasick, 
145-146;  disturbed  by  proph- 
ecies, 280-281,  282;  pro- 
tected by  order  of  King 
James,  236;  policy  of,  in  deal- 
ing with  the  English  278-279; 
demoralization  of  his  court 
due  to  the  coming  of  the  Eng- 
lish, 281;  died  at  Orapax, 
153;  the  rule  as  to  the  suc- 
cession to  his  crown,  170;  suc- 
ceeded by  his  brother  Opitch- 
apan,  271;  fate  of,  as  com- 
pared with  Pemisapan,  283- 
284;  tribe,  268,270,  271,  273, 
324-326;  town,  144;  town,  on 
site  of  Richmond,  156-157 
Powhatan  County,  tribes  in,  371 
Priests,  and  conjurers,  chapter 
on,  223-237;  their  attire,  225- 
226,  230-231,  231-232;  con- 
jurer's dress,  232;  black  bird 
above  ear  as  badge  of  office, 
231 ;  deemed  semi-divine,  193- 
194;  their  souls  deemed  im- 
mortal, 241-242;  lived  well, 
233-234;  their  power,  165, 
252;  constituted  an  hier- 
archy, 165,  173,  223,  342; 
ruled  the  Chickahominies, 
342 ;  decided  questions  of  war, 
173;  were  specially  trained  in 
medicine,  186,  183-190,  194; 
must  have  been  huskanawed, 
195;  keepers  of  the  mummies 
of  the  kings,  199;  stayed  with 
the  mummies,  199,  201;  op- 
position of,  to  the  white  man, 
223-224,  235-237,  238;  princi- 
pal seat  of,  224-227;  sacred 
house  near  Uttamussack,  224- 
225;  devotions  of,  226,  229, 
230;  no  special  holy  days,  229, 
251-252;  conjuration  of,  227- 
229,  231;  of  Secota  described, 
230-231;  some  wore  beards, 
233;  belief  in  their  super- 
natural powers,  233;  pro- 
ducing rain,  233,  234-235; 
office  of,  never  held  by  women, 
234;  made  the  people  believe, 


260;  control  over  worshipers 
in  Okee's  temple,  247,  260; 
redeem  an  Okee  fallen  in 
battle,  243;  good,  highly 
valued  by  the  weroances,  249; 
prophecies  of,  in  relation  to 
Powhatan's  empire,  280-282; 
destruction  of  the  Roanoke 
Island  settlement  due  to,  236; 
denounced  by  Whittaker,  233- 
234;  Strachey  thought  they 
should  be  destroyed,  235- 
237 

Prince  George  County,  town  in, 
155;  tribes  in,  339,  345-346; 
Maryland,  town  in,  152; 
tribe  in,  365 

Princess  Anne  County,  tribe  in, 
351-353 

Prophecies,  280-281,  282,353 

Protestantism,  extension  of,  in- 
volved in  the  colonization  of 
Virginia,  4-15;  contest  be- 
tween, and  Roman  Catholi- 
cism, 5-15 

Proudfit,  S.  v.,  quoted,  114,  153 

Public  meetings,  for  war,  etc., 
170;  decorum  of,  177-178; 
how  treaties  conducted,  178- 
181 

Puccoon,  a  root,  229;  paint 
made  from,  32-33,  54,  264; 
used  as  medicine,  188-189, 
229 

Punishment,  for  adultery,  81, 
172;  for  murder,  172;  for 
robbery,  172;  capital,  how 
inflicted,  172-173;  "cruel  and 
unusual,"     181-182 

Puritanism,  contrast  between 
reasons  of,  for  colonization, 
and  those  which  caused  the 
settlement  of  Virginia,  15-18 

Putin  Bay,  Werowocomoco  on 
or  near,  143 


"Quarrelsome,  the.  Chiefs,"  314 
Quarries,  Indian,   114-119 
Quebec  founded,  1 1 
Queen,  title  of,  168;  Aliguippe, 

179,  401 
Queen  Anne  County,  Maryland, 

tribes  in,  366 
Quioccos,  see  Religion 
Quioccosan,  see  Religion 


Index 


423 


Quiver,  of  rushes,  40;  bark,  42; 
skin,  42 


R 


Rain,  power  of  priests  to  pro- 
duce, 233,  234-235;  offerings 
for,  251 

Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  opposes  the 
poHcies  of  Spain,  7-12 

Rappahannock,  town,  156; 
word,  316;  river,  names  for, 
317;  tribes  on  the,  359-362, 
369-370;  tribe,   360 

Rattle,  picture  of  child  with,  62 ; 
musical  instrument,  86,  87; 
use  in  medicine,  183 

Rattlesnake  root,  cure  for 
snake-bite,  186-187 

Reeds,  knives  made  of,  43 

Refuge,  city  of,  393 

Regions,  Pamunkey,  44;  Seco- 
tan,  160;  Weapemeoc,  160; 
Newsioc,  283;  Pomuik,  283; 
Isenacommacah,  316 

Reincarnation,  242,  258 

Relics,  Indian,  in  northwestern 
part  of  the  State,  383-388 

Religion,  freedom  of,  involved 
in  the  wars  of  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries,  4- 
15 ;  nature  of  the  Indians',  238 ; 
the  Indians',  described  by 
Whittaker,  252-253;  the  In- 
dian governmental  system  of, 
249;  Occaneeche  the  language 
of,  260;  tutelar  deities  of 
towns,  247-248,  251;  the 
priests  made  the  people  be- 
lieve, 260;  Indian  priests  re- 
sented attack  on  their,  223- 
224;  Indians  reticent  about, 
238,  244,  258;  medicine  a  part 
of,  and  not  to  be  disclosed,  186- 
187;  Quioccosan  or  Machi- 
comuck  words  for  temple, 
305;  temples  surrounded  by 
posts  with  faces  on  them,  244, 
264;  the  temple  at  Pomeiock, 
135;  idols  placed  in  the 
temples  to  protect  the  mum- 
mies of  the  kings,  198,  240, 
250,  305;  Beverley's  visit  to 
the  Indian  temple,  243-248; 
part  played  by  conjurers  and 
priests  in  Okee's  temple,  247; 


altar-stones,  230,  253-254 ; 
see  Pawcorances;  frequency  of 
sacrifice,  263;  religious  rehcs 
carefully  kept  by  Indians,  132; 
no  special  holy  days,  229,  251- 
252;  seasons  observed  in, 
263-264;  devotions,  226,  229- 
230,  254;  frequency  of  di- 
vinations and  enchantments, 
262;  various  objects  of  wor- 
ship, 249;  the  Devil  chief  ob- 
ject of  worship,  249,  251,  259- 
260,  262;  necessity  for  wor- 
shiping him,  259-260;  Rio- 
kosick  and  Riapoke  names  for 
the  Devil,  306;  Okee  the 
malignant  deity,  250-25 1,259- 
260,  305;  his  part  in  huska- 
nawing,  193-194,  197;  pro- 
tected the  mummies  of  the 
kings,  198,  240,  250,  305; 
carried  into  battle,  243;  the 
name  Okee  a  generic  term, 
247-248, 305 ;  the  idol  Okee  de- 
scribed, 246,  247,  250,  252; 
burnt  offerings  and  first  fruits 
given  to,  262 ;  Ahone  the  great 
and  good  god,  250,  259,  305; 
names  of  the  gods  Okee, 
Quioccos,  Kiwasa,  239,  247- 
248,  305;  Cakeres  and  Quio- 
quascacke,  251;  Montoac  a 
general  word  for  gods,  239, 
305;  one  great  god,  239; 
Rawottonemd  their  word  for 
god,  305;  Kewas,  an  image  of 
god  in  the  form  of  a  man; 
plural  Kewasowok,  305;  Qui- 
youghcosoughs,  the  name  for 
petty  gods  and  their  affinities, 
305;  Quioccos  the  idol  which 
dwelt  in  the  temple,  305; 
Mahomny  the  god  who  de- 
cides the  fate  of  the  dead, 
261-262,  305;  gods  have 
human  forms,  240;  sun 
worship,  248;  the  good  spirit 
of  the  Cherokees,  391;  the 
evil  spirit  of  the  Cherokees, 
266;  his  habitation,  266; 
sanctity  of  oaths,  248-249; 
rite  of  huskanawing,  191- 197; 
grace  before  meals,  74;  first 
fruits,  262 ;  tobacco  subject  of 
sacrifice,  262-263;  sacrifice  to 
running   streams,   265;   pyra- 


424 


Index 


Religion —  Continued 

midical  stones  and  running 
streams  types  of  the  immu- 
tability of  the  deity,  264, 
265;  the  giant's  footprint, 
265;  Still  Pond,  265-266; 
Jopassus'  account  of  creation 
and  the,  of  the  Indians,  254- 
258;  the  Great  Hare,  255- 
258;  belief  in  the  immortality 
of  the  soul,  240-243,  257- 
258,  261,  262;  applied  to 
weroances  and  priests,  241- 
242;  did  not  include  the 
common  people,  241-242; 
journey  of  the  soul  after 
death,  257-258;  the  Happy 
Hunting  Grounds,  261 ;  the 
Barren  Hunting  Grounds, 
261-262;  the  doctrine  of  re- 
incarnation, 242,  257-258; 
belief  that  the  white  men  were 
dead  men  returned  to  life, 
242-243 ;  Popogusso  their  word 
for  Hell,  306;  Mounshaqua- 
tuuh,  their  word  for  Heaven, 
306;  Pepisco's  appreciation  of 
the  God  of  the  English,  346 

Reservations,  Pamunkey,  327- 
336;  Mattapony,  336-337 

Revenge,  never  forget  injury, 
34;  case  of,  35 ;  form  of  private 
justice,  45-46,  393;  tobacco, 
the  Indians',  on  the  White 
Man,  105 

Riches,  food  principal,  44;  In- 
dians had  little,  45.  See 
Treasure 

Richmond,  site  of  Indian  town, 
144,  145,  157 

Richmond  County,  towns  in, 
149,  156,  361 ;  tribes  in,  361 

Rivers  and  streams,  names  of, 
315-316 

Roads,  Indian  runnmg  north 
from  Werowocomoco,  143; 
along  the  north  shore  of  the 
York,  143 

Roanoke,  ornament,  42,  45; 
money,  47,  307;  town  of,  157; 
name,  315 

Roanoke  Island,  settlement 
came  in  contact  with  the 
Catawbas,  27;  town,  pictures 
relate  to,  39;  Indians,  how 
marked,   41;    costumes,    etc., 


55;  climate,  55;  king  of  the 
country  around,  203;    settle- 
ment's    destruction    due    to 
Powhatan's  priests,  235-236 
Roasting-ear,    picture    of    boy 
with,    62;    a    favorite    food, 
68-69;  ^^  picture  of  man  and 
wife   at   dinner,    75;   time,   a 
division  of  the  year,  84 
Robbery,  how  punished,  172 
Rock  Creek,  workshops  on,  116 
Roman  Catholicism,  its  efforts  to 
suppress  Protestantism,  4-15 
Rose  Hill,  quarry,  117,  118 
Rosewell,  Werowocomoco,  at  or 
near,  143,  355;  Indian  roads 
near,  143 
Running     streams,     worshiped, 

265 
Runtees,    made    of    the    conch 
shell,  46;  use  of,  as  ornaments, 
46,  307;  picture  of  boy  with 
necklace  of,  62 


Sachem,  office  of,  1 70-1 71 

Sacrifice,  yearly,  of  children, 
191,  223-224,  252;  altar- 
stones  for,  230, 253 ;  the  crystal 
altar-stone,  253;  principal 
devotion  consisted  in,  253- 
254;  tobacco,  object  of,  262- 
263;  frequency  of,  263;  to 
running  streams,  265 

Scalp-lock,  long  lock  preserved 
for  distinction,  36;  half  of  the 
hair  allowed  to  grow,  54-55 

Scarecrow,  picture  of  cabin 
used  by,  58;  regular  feature 
of  agriculture,  136 

Seasons,  and  festivals,  chapter 
on,  84-90;  how  divided,  84; 
those  observed  religiously, 
263-264 

Secota,  pictures  relating  to,  37- 
39.  135-136;  described,  135- 
136;  mentioned  159;  priests 
of,  230-231 

Secotam,  Indians  of,  how 
marked,  41;  region,  160,  283 

Servants,  black  boys,  169 

Shawanese,  tribe,  26,  380-381; 
where  located,  324 

Shelly,  Werowocomoco  at  or 
near,  143 


Index 


425 


Shenandoah,  name,  316;  Indian 
towns  on,  385-389 

Shenapin  town,  incidents  of 
treaty  held  at,  179-180 

Shields,  of  bark,  112,  173-174, 
176 

Shoes,  how  made,  37,  56 

Sickness,  see  Medicine 

Sieges,  Indians  not  capable  of 
making,  182 

Singing,  calculated  to  affright 
rather  than  delight,  86;  further 
described,  86 

Six  Nations,  location  of,  among 
the  Algonquin  Indians,  26; 
incident  of  a  treaty  w4th,  180- 
181;  came  in  contact  with 
Virginia,  400 

Skicoak,  town  on  site  of  Nor- 
folk, 157 

Skins,  53;  of  birds,  54;  how 
dressed,  57,  104;  of  persons, 
how  hardened,  60;  how  kept, 
64;  part  of  game  most  valued, 
99.  100 

Slaves,  how  married  women 
punished  for  adultery  might 
become,  81;  stolen  from  the 
white  men  by  the  Indians,  394 

Smith,  Capt.  John,  writings, 
viii. ;  taken  captive  by  hunting- 
party,  97;  map,  141;  quoted, 
34,  42,  53,  58.  60,  71,  75,  85, 
96,  III,  137,  229,  243,  287, 
369 

Smithfield,  site  of  Indian  town, 
157,  350 

Smoke,  houses  full  of,  131 

Snake,  as  earring,  54;  eaten  as 
food,  68;  bite  of,  how  cured, 
186-187,  190 

Socobec,  town,  on  site  of  Freder- 
icksburg, 157 

Soul,  belief  in  immortality  of, 
240-243;  journey  of,  after 
death,  257-258.    See  Religion 

Southampton  County,  tribes  in, 
376-379 

Spain,  claim  of,  to  Virginia,  2; 
policy  of,  in  regard  to  the 
Indians,  30;  the  Chicka- 
hominies  engage  to  fight 
against,  343 

Spelman,  Henry,  writings,  x.- 
xiii. ;  head  cut  off,  151 ;  quoted, 
54,  61,  73,  76,  77,  88,  99,  103, 


139,  172-173,  175.  183,  201, 
233,  251; 

Spinning,  how  done,  95 

Spoon,  75;  picture  of  cockle- 
shell used  for,  75;  those  used 
by  the  Indians  very  large,  75 

Spots,  on  body,  from  bleeding, 
40 

Spottsylvania  County,  tribes  in, 
370 

Spring,  the  budding  of,  one  of 
the  Indians'  divisions  of  the 
year,  84 

Stafford  County,  tribes  in,  361, 
362-363,  370;  town  in,  363 

Stags,  moon  of,  84 

Stealing,  common  people  given 
to,  35 

Still  Pond,  265-266 

Stockings  worn  more  generally 
by  old  people,  57-58 

Stoicism,  pain  borne  with,  44- 
45 

Stone  Age,  Virginia  Indians  be- 
longed to  neolithic,  25;  work- 
shops of,  1 12-1 19;  implements 
of,  discussed,  113-114;  bodies 
unburnt  during,  217 

vStoncs,  heap  of,  raised  to  com- 
memorate treaties  of  peace, 
178;  used  to  typify  qualities 
of  the  deity,  264-265 

Stools  of  earth,  130,  131 

Strachey,  Wm.,  writings,  viii.- 
X.;  quoted,  31,  59,  65,  71,  72, 
74,  78,  82,  94,  102,  112,  133, 
135,  140,  165,  166,  170,  191, 
198,  202,  223,  224,  227,  235, 
241,  249,  255,  287,  321,  370 

Strangers,  how  received,  49-52; 
of  condition,  how  entertained, 
52,62 

Sturgeon,  how  caught,  92-93 

Suffolk,  site  of  Indian  town,  157 

Summer,  highest  sun,  Indian 
division  of  the  year,  84; 
Indian,  meaning  of,  89-90 

Summons,  to  war,  how  served 
on  warriors,  174-175 

Sun,  highest,  one  of  the  divisions 
of  the  year,  84;  worshiped  as 
a  god,  248 

Superstitions,  continual  fire  in 
the  home,  66;  suggested  in 
connection  with  pottery,  121; 
as  to  vomiting,  190;  in  regard 


426 


Index 


Superstitions —  Continued 

to  huskanawing,  193-194;  in 
regard  to  lightning  and 
thunder,  194,  229,  259-260; 
passing  sacred  house  at  Utta- 
mussack,  224-225 ;  conjuration 
and  sorcery,  227-229;  in  re- 
gard to  the  white  men,  242- 
243,  404-405;  various  objects 
of  worship,  249;  the  bird 
pawcorance,  254;  baskets  of 
stones,  265;  running  streams, 
265;  giant  footprint,  265; 
Still  Pond,  265-266;  prophe- 
cies as  to  the  destruction  of 
the  realm,  280-282.  See  ReH- 
gion 

Surry  County,  Indian  towns  in, 
144,  155;  tribes  in,  339,  345- 
346 

Susquehannocks,  one  of  the  Six 
Nations,  26;  large  in  stature, 
33,  373-374;  described,  373- 
376;  tribe,  373-376,  379 

Sweating-house,  medical  treat- 
ment with,  187-188 

Sword,  of  wood,  174 


Tablet,  breast  ornament,  41,  46 
Tahahcoope,  son  of  Powhatan, 

274 
Tappahannas,     Oholasc    regent 

over,  272;  tribe,  345,  360 
Targets  of  bark,  112,  173-174, 

Tattooing,  see  Pouncing 

Taxes,  paid  in  tithes,  165-166, 
167;  oppressive,  167 

Temple,  at  Pomeioc  described, 
135;  mummies  of  the  kings 
kept  in,  199;  Beverley's  visit 
to  the,  of  Okee,  243-248;  and 
priest  in  the  territory  of  each 
weroance,  249;  built  at  the 
cost  of  the  weroances,  249; 
how  constructed,  249;  sur- 
rounded by  posts  with  faces 
carved  on  them,  264;  called 
quioccosan  or  machicomuck, 
305.     See  Religion 

Tennessee,  word,  316 

Textile  art,  125-127 

Thanksgiving,  how  expressed,  88 

Thread,  how  made,  95 ;  uses  of,  95 


Timbemeck  Bay,  Werowoco- 
moco,  on  or  near,  142 

Time,  how  divided,  84 

Tithes  exacted  by  Powhatan, 
167 

Titles  of  honor,  sachem,  171, 302 ; 
cockarouse,  92,  168-169,  302; 
weroance,  168,  169,  302; 
borrowed  from  the  English, 
168-169;  woman  queen,  302; 
cronockoes,  302 ;  mamana- 
towick,  269,  302;  veroanee, 
302;  mangoi,  344,  345;  be- 
loved man,  391 

Tobacco,  pipes  of  peace,  49-52, 
73;  used  most  by  men  with 
many  wives,  83;  shown  in  pic- 
tures, 102;  Indians'  revenge, 
105;  described  by  Hariot,  105- 
106;  how  used,  105-106;  cul- 
tivation of,  106-108;  worm, 
108;  object  of  sacrifice,  262- 
263 

Tockwogh,  town,  151;  river, 
317;  tribe,  372 

Tomahawk,  adorned  with  peak 
and  runtees,  46;  picture  of, 
75;  buried  as  sign  of  peace,  178 

Tombs  of  the  kings  of  Secota, 
137 

Tomlinson,  A.  B.,  quoted,  211 

Tools,  files  of  beaver  teeth,  43; 
knives  of  split  reeds,  43; 
shells  for  razors,  33-34;  bones 
for  fish-hooks,  95;  cockle 
shells  for  spoons,  75;  thread 
made  of  grass,  95;  axes  made 
of  stone,  112;  weapon  like  a 
pickaxe,  174 

Toppahanock,  river,  317;  tribe, 
360 

Torture,  of  prisoners,  44-45; 
general  among  the  Indians, 
181-182;  particular  case  of, 
300-301 

Towns,  and  houses,  chapter  on, 
128-140;  located,  chapter  on, 
141-160;  picture  of,  58;  In- 
dians lived  in,  128-129;  134; 
each,  ruled   by  a   king,   128- 

129,  133-134;    size   of,    129- 

130,  138,  139,  352-353;  pali- 
sadoed,  130;  generally  small, 
133;  distance  apart,  134; 
forums  in,  134,  136-137;  when 
removed,     134;     usually     by 


Index 


427 


Towns —  Continued 

rivers,  137,  138-139;  woods 
clear  around,  138;  generally 
on  a  hill,  138-139;  map  of,  in 
Virginia,  142;  John  Pory 
visits,  152;  map  of,  in  North 
Carolina,  160;  often  had  same 
name  as  tribes,  142;  all  had 
tutelar  deities,  247-248;  at 
Turk's  Ferry,  358;  on  the 
Wappatomaka,  384;  in  Hamp- 
shire County,  W.  Va.,  384- 
385;  on  the  Shenandoah,  385- 
386;  in  Frederick  County,  386; 
in  Page  County,  386;  in 
Pennsylvania,  400-401;  west 
of  the  Ohio,  401;  some  men- 
tioned in  this  volume: 

Accohanock,  367 

Accomack,  157,  367 

Acquack,  149 

Anoeg,  270 

Apasus,  352 

Appamattox,  155,  157,  338 

Appocant,  145,  149,  277 

Aquascogoc,  41,  159 

Aquohanock,  152 

Arrohateck,  145,  337 

Assaomeck,  157 

Capahowasick,    145-146 

Catawba  town,  398 

Catokinge,  158 

Cekacawon,  362 

Charters  Old  Town,  401 

Chawanook,  158 

Chawopoweanock,   144 

Chepanow,  158 

Chesakawon,  147 

Chesapeake,  150,  352 

Chickahomonie,  156,  345 

Chiconessex,  155 

Chilhowee,  392 

Citico,  392 

Corotoman,  360 

Cotan,  159 

Croatoan,  159 

Cuttatawomen,  360 

Dasamonquepeuc,  159 

Echota,  391,  392,  393-394 

Gangascoe,  155 

Gingoteque,  155 

Gwarewoc,  159 

Hatorask,  159 

Kecoughtan,  102,  148,  157, 
191.  354-355 

Kiequotank,  155 


Kiskiack,  146 
Loggstown,  401 
Machopongo,  255 
Machot,  151,  152 
Mamanahunt,  146 
Mantoughquemeo,  157 
Mascoming,  158 
Matchopungo,  155,  255 
Matomkin,  155 
Mattapanient,  152 
Mattpament,  152 
Menheering,  156 
Mequopen,  159 
Metpowem,  158 
Mohominge,  145 
Monahassanugh,  270 
Moratuc,  158 
Moraughtacund,  361 
Moysonec,  145 
Muscamunge,  158 
Nacotchtanke,  153-154 
Nanduye,  155 
Nansemond,  149,  156,  351 
Nantaughtacund,  361 
Newsioc,  159 
Nominy,  150 
Nottoway,  155 
Occahanock,  155 
Occaneeche,  379 
Ohaunook,  158 
Onancoke,  152,  155 
Onawmanient,  362 
Orapax,  152-153.  251,  271, 

275,  342.  357 
Ozenick,  146,  149,  341 
Ozinies,  146 

Pamunkey,  44,  156,  224 
Panawaioc,  159 
Paquiwoc,  159 
Paspahegh,  144-145.  339 
Pasptanzie,  xii. 
Pasquenoke,  158 
Patawomek,  151,  251 
Pawtuxunt,  152 
Payankatank,  358 
Piqua,  400 
Pissacoack,  149 
Pissaseck,  361 
Pomeiock,    36-39,    41,    57, 

61,  134-135.  157,  352 
Port  Tabago,  156 
Potomac,  363,  383 
Powhatan,  144,  157,  325 
Pungoteque,  155 
Quiyoughcohanock,         144, 

191,  346 


428 


Index 


Towns —  Continued 

Ramushowog,  158 

Rappahannock,  156,  361 

Rassawck,  370 

Roanoke,  157 

Romuncock,  326 

Secota,  58,  62,  135-136,  159 

Sectuoc,  159 

Sewickley  Old  Town,  401 

Shenapin    Town,    179-180, 
400-401 

Skicoak,  157,  352-353 

Sockobeck,  157 

Tallassee,  392 

Tamottee,  392 

Tandaquomuc,  158 

Tauxenent,  365 

Tennassee,  392 

Tockwogh,  151,  372 

Tramasquecoock,  159 

Uttamussack,  224-227,  253 

Waratan,  158 

Warraskoyack,  149,  157, 350 

Werowocomoco,      142-143, 
271,  315,  355 

Wicocomoco,  156,  362 

Wokokon,  160 

Wyanoke,  147,  155,  339 

Yawtanoone,  xi.,  251 
See  Maps,  142,  160 
Toyatan   succeeded  his  brother 

Powhatan,  271-272 
Trading,    by   barter,    44;    with 

Maryland  prohibited,  375 
Traveling,  food   during,  47-48; 

skill  shown  in,  96 
Treasure,    hidden,    71;     buried 
with  the  dead,  202-203;  Pow- 
hatan's guarded  by  an  idol, 
251 
Treaties,    see   Public   meetings; 
with    the    Chickahominies, 
342-344 
Trees,  principal,  28;  how  felled, 
109,  no,  134;  around  towns, 
138;      houses      under,      139; 
planted      to      commemorate 
treaties  of  peace,  178 
Tribes,    and    nations,    chapter 
on,    324-405;    of    Indians    in 
eastern    part    of    the    United 
States,  26-27;  origin  of  names 
of,  often  same  as  rivers,  etc., 
142,  368-369;    the  weroances 
alone  sold  the  lands  of,  169; 
how  located  in  Virginia,  324; 


under  Powhatan,  324-368;  the 
five  civilized,  397;  some  of  the, 
mentioned  in  this  volume: 
Accohanocks,  270,  367 
Accowmacks,  270,  367 
Acquintanacksuaks,  366 
Anacostans,  xii. 
Anoeg,  270 
Appomattucks,     268,     270, 

337-338 
Arrohatecks,  268,  270,  324, 

337 
Atquandachuks,  372 
Bocootawwonough,  270 
Cantaunkacks,  357 
Cassapecocks,  357 
Catawbas,  26, 382-383, 397- 

399 
Cayugas,  26,  403 
Cekacawons,  362 
Chawons,  269,  399 
Chawonoaks,  269 
Cheescake,  see  Kiskiack 
Chepechos,  357 
Cherokees,    26,    324,    389- 

399 
Chesapeaks,  280,  351 
Chickahominies,  341-345 
Chickamawgas,  392,  400 
Chickasaws,  27,  390,  397 
Chippewas,  26 
Choctaws,  27,  390,  396,  397 
Cinelas,  373,  375 
Conestogas,  375 
Creeks,  27,  390,  392,  397 
Cuttatawomen.  359 
Delawares,    26,    382,    398- 

401 
Doegs,  361 
Erati,  392 
Eries,  26     ^ 
Foxes,  26,  73 
Gingaskins,  366 
Hassinungoes,  370 
Hurons,  26 
Illinois,  26 
Iroquois,  26,  398-399,  400, 

401 
Kaposecocks,  357 
Kecoughtans,  273,  353 
Kickapoos,  26 
Kiskiacks,  355-357 
Kuskarawaocks,  366 
Manakins,  324,  369-370 
Mangoags,  369,  399 
Mannahoacks,  324, 369-370 


Index 


429 


Tribes —  Continued 
Maskoki,  26 
Massawomecks,    270,    371- 

372,  374 
Massawomees,  403 
Massinacocs,  371 
Alattapaments,  336-337 
Mattapamients,      268-270, 

336-337 
Mattaponys,  336-337 
Meherrins,  379 
Miamis,  26,  400 
Mingoes,  400 
Mobilians,  26 
Mohawks,  26,  403 
Mohegans,  26 
Mohemenchoes,  371 
Monacans,  324,  367-370 
Monahassanoes,  371 
Monasiccapanocs,  370 
Moraughtacunds,  361 
Moraughtaownas,  361 
Moyaons,  365 
Mummapacunes,  357 
Muscogulges,  390 
Nandtaughtacunds,  361 
Nansemonds,  350 
Narragansetts,  26 
Natchez,  27 
Nocotchtanks,  365 
Nominies,  362 
Nottoways,  376-379 
Occaneeches,  379 
Ochahannankes,  357 
Ojibwas,  26 
Onawmanients,  362 
Oneidas,  26,  181,  403 
Onondagas,  26,  181,  403 
Ontponies,  370 
Orapaks,  357 
Orzinies,  341,  366 
Ottari,  392 
Ottawas,  26 
Pamacaeacks,  365 
Pamarekes,  357 
Pamunkeys,   44,    103,    156, 

196,    197,   226-227,   268, 

270,315,324,326-336 
Paraconas,  357 
Pascataway,  373 
Paspahegs,  339-341 
Patauncks,  357 
Patawomecks,  362-365 
Patawuxents,  365 
Payankatanks,  358 
Pequots,  26 


Pissasecks,  361 
Pocoughtronacks,  402 
Potapacos,  365 
Pottawatomies,  26 
Powhatans,   268,   270,   271, 

273,  324-326 
Quiyongheohanocks,  or  Tap- 

pahannas,  272,  345 
Rappahannocks,  360 
Secowocomacos,  365 
Seminoles,  27,  390,  397 
Senecas,  26,  401,  403 
Senedos,  372,  383,  385 
Shackakonies,  370 
Shamapas,  357 
Shawanese,    26,    324,    380, 

.388,398,399,400 
Six  Nations,  26,  398,  400 
Stegarakies,  370 
Susquehannocks,     26,     33, 

373-376,  379 
Tants  Wighcocomicos,  366 
Tappahannas,      or      Quiy- 
ongheohanocks, 272,  345, 

346 
Tarratines,  26 
Tauxenents,  365 
Tauxitanians,  370 
Tegninaties,  370 
Tockwoghes,  269,  372 
Toppahanocks,  360 
Tsaraghee,  391 
Tuscaroras,    26,    324,    372, 

388,  399 
Tuteloes,  380 
Twightwees,  400 
Wampanoags,  26 
Warascoyacks,     149,      157, 

348 
Weanocks,  see  Wyanoke 
Weopemedgs,  399 
Werowocomocos,     142-143, 

355 
Whonkenties,  370 
Wighcocomocos,     33,     156, 

362 
Winnebagos,  26 
Wyandots,  400 
Wyanoke,  147,  155,  339 
Youghianunds,  338 
Youghtamunds,    268,    270, 

271,  324,  338 
Tribute     Indians     reduced     to, 

146,  154 
Triumvdri      of     Opechanekeno, 
326,  358 


430 


Index 


Trustees  appointed  for  Indian 

tribes,  351,  378 
Tuckahoe,  an   edible  root,  69- 

70 
Turkey-feather,     mantles,     53 ; 

arrows  fledged  with,  112 
Turpentine,  glue  of,  112 
Tuscaroras,    a    branch    of    the 

Iroquois,      26,      372;      where 

located,  324,  372;  the  Cataw- 

bas     fought     with     Virginia 

against,  399 
Tutelar  deities,  all  towns   had, 

247-248,  251 
Tyrrell  County,  North  Carolina, 

Indian  town  in,  159 


Unoccupied  region  between  the 
mountains  and  the  Missis- 
sippi, 395 

Uppowoc,  see  Tobacco 

Uttamussack,  principal  seat  of 
the  priests,  224-227;  its  loca- 
tion, 226;  crystal  cube  at,  253 


V 


Valley  of  Virginia,  tribes  of  the, 
380-390;  "The  Barrens,"  381- 
382;  scene  of  Indian  battles, 
398,  403 

Vegetables,  see  Pood 

Verazzano,  voyage  of,  founda- 
tion for  claims  of  France,    2 

Virginia,  a  leading  motive  for 
the  colonization  of,  was  the 
extension  of  Protestantism, 
4-15;  difference  between,  and 
Massachusetts,  15-18;  would 
not  tolerate  Roman  Catholics, 
18,  23-24;  founding  of,  by  the 
King  of  England,  19-22; 
scope  of  the  undertaking,  21- 
22;  religious  principles  of  the 
founders  long  adhered  to,  23- 
24;  why  so  respected,  23-24; 
Indians  of,  how  classed,  25-26; 
flora  and  fauna  of  the,  forest, 
27-29;  kind  of  country  first 
occupied,  29;  policy  of,  in  re- 
gard to  the  Indians,  30-31; 
bonds  of,  held  by  Choctaws 
and      Cherokees,      396-397; 


westward  progress  of,  403-405; 
Company,  the  colony  estab- 
lished by,  21 ;  Indian  name  for, 
316 
Virginians,  adopted  figurative 
language  of  Indians,  178; 
adopted  Indian  method  of 
fighting,  182;  called  by  the 
Indians  the  Big  Knives,  182 

W 

Wahanganoche,  disputes  with 
over  sales  of  land,  363-365 

Walking,  Indian  mode  of,  44 

Walnut,  69,  71,  73 

Wampum  peak,  made  of  conch 
shell,  46;  use  of,  in  treaties, 
179-180;  used  as  money,  306- 
307 

War,  art  of,  and  political  laws, 
chapter  on,  165-182;  method 
of,  45,  175-177,  182;  for 
women,  82,  173;  with  the 
Pamunkeys  in,  1624,  103; 
continual  among  the  Indians, 
129,  173.  382-383,  401-402; 
begun  after  due  consultations, 
170,  173,  175;  authority  of  the 
commander,  171-172;  the 
priests  generally  decide  ques- 
tion of,  173;  how  warriors 
summoned  for,  174-175;  In- 
dians timorous  in  action,  175- 
176;  and  cruel,  176;  dance,  45; 
whoop,  117;  Virginians  adopt- 
ed Indian  method  of,  182; 
idol  carried  into  battle,  243; 
Virginia's  westward  progress, 
403-405 

Warraskoyack,  town,  149;  on 
site  of  Smithfield,  157;  tribe, 
348-350;  name,  315;  bay, 
317 

Washington  County,  North 
Carolina,  town  in,  159 

Water,  Indians'  principal  drink, 
70;  pond,  preferred,  70;  arti- 
ficial, supply  by  town,  135 

Weanoack,  town  burned,  147; 
tribe,  339 

Weapons,  kinds  used,  174,  176 

Weighing,  difficulty  in  Indians 
understanding,  34-35 

Weirs,  fishing,  how  made,  91- 
92,  94.  95-96,  98 


Index 


431 


Weroances,  meaning  of  the 
word,  269;  how  dressed,  39, 
172;  how  wives  selected,  78; 
had  many  wives,  77,  79; 
planting  and  gathering  their 
corn,  104-105;  their  houses, 
139;  power  of,  165-166,  168, 
171;  taxes  due  by,  166;  num- 
ber of,  166;  ill-breeding  pun- 
ished by,  168;  lands  sold  by 
them,  not  by  the  tribe,  169; 
office  of,  170-171;  how  dis- 
tinguished, 172;  ruled  by  the 
priests,  165,  173;  how  their 
bodies  preserved  after  death, 
47,  198,  199,  200;  how  their 
mummies  guarded,  199-200; 
protected  by  the  orders  of 
King  James,  236;  their  souls 
believed  immortal,  241-242; 
each  had  a  temple  and  priest 
in  his  jurisdiction,  249;  were 
builders  of  the  temples,  249; 
some  mentioned  in  this  vol- 
ume: 

Amepetough,  350 

Ashuaquid,  337 

Attasquintan,  357 

Attossomunck,  357 

Canasateego,  1 80-1 81 

Coquonasum,    337-338 

Ensenore,  203,  242-243 

Essenataugh,  357 

Grangenimeo,  283 

Harquip,  344 

Heigler,  399 

Jopassus,  xi.,  xii.,  254-258, 
272,  363 

Kaquothacun,  339 

Kecatough,  272,  358 

Keighangton,  357 

Keptopeke,  367 

Kequotaugh,  see  Kecatough 

Kissanacomen,  146,  341 

Menatonon,  283 

Namenacus,  365 

Namontack,  273 

Nansuapunck,  357 

Nantaquaus,  called  the 
Laughing  King,  274,  367 

Oconostota,  391-392,  394 

Ohonnamo,  357 

Opechancanough,  xii.,  145, 
147,  151,  268,  271,  272, 
283,  326,  346-347,  358 

Opitchapan,  271-272 


Opopohcumunck,  357 
Ottahotin,  355 
Ottondeacommoc,  357 
Pemisapan,    203,    242-243, 

283,  284 
Pepisco,  346-347 
Pepiscumah,  see  Pepisco 
Persicles,  379-380 
Pinmacum,  283 
Pochins,  273,  353 
Pomiscatuck,  338 
Poonens,  158,  283 
Powhatan,  see  Powhatan 
Tackonekintaco,  348 
Tahahcoope,  346 
Tanacharison,  391,  401 
Tatacope,  see  Tahahcoope 
Taughhaiten,  358 
Taux-Powhatan,    x.,     273, 

325 
Tirchtough,  350 
Tottopottomoy,  333 
Toyatan,  see  Opitchapan 
Uropaack,  357 
Wahanganoche,  363 
Werowaugh,  336 
Weyamat,  357 
Weyhohomo,  350 
Weyongopo,  350 
Wingina,  see  Pemisapan  and 

Wingina. 
Wochinchopunck,  339-34 1 
Werowocomoco,   location,    142- 
143;  roads  from,  143;  rivaled 
by  Machot,  152;  tribe,  355 
Westmoreland  County,  towns  in, 

149,  150;  tribes  in,  362 
Westphalia,  treaty  of,  14-15 
West's  fort,  144 
West  Point,   Indian  name  for, 

317 
White,    John,    pictures,    37-39, 
124;    sent    over    by    Raleigh, 
39;  map,  160 
White  peak,  uses  of,  46 
Whiteside  Mountain,  the  home 

of  the  Spirit  of  Evil,  266 
Whittaker     quoted,     139,     166, 

^73,  233,  252 
Wiccocomoco,  see  Wighcocomo- 

coes 
Wicomico  River,  317 
Wife,  see  Wives 

Wighcocomocoes,  tribe  small  in 
stature,  33;  town,  156;  tribe, 
362 


433 


Index 


Wigwam,  130;  see  Houses 

William  the  Silent,  5-9 

Wingina,  marks  on  his  subjects, 
41;  on  his  brother-in-law's 
subjects,  41;  southern  limit 
of  kingdom,  159;  sick  when 
English  first  appeared,  282; 
his  allies  and  enemies,  283; 
took  the  name  of  Pemisapan, 
283;  planned  extermination  of 
the  English,  283;  death  of,  284 

Winters,  years  reckoned  by,  84; 
called  cohonks,  84 

Wives,  bought  with  money,  77; 
plurality  of,  77,  78,  79,  80,  82; 
of  the  kings,  78 ;  care  of  Pow- 
hatan's, 78;  status  of,  79; 
duties  of,  80;  right  of  divorce, 
80,  81;  gotten  by  skill  in 
hunting,  96 

Wolves,  quantity  of,  28;  native 
animal,  73 

Women,  of  Secotam,  58;  pas- 
times of,  59;  carrying  children, 
59-60;  love  of  children,  60; 
waited  on  by  children,  62; 
how  employed,  62,  75-76; 
behavior  of,  62-64;  kept  skin 
clean  with  oil,  64;  dress  of 
young,  62-63,  64,  65;  how  to 
tell  married,  63;  breasts,  63, 
64;  young,  gay,  63-64;  makers 
of  pottery,  etc.,  65-66,  75-76; 
served  meals,  76;  wars  for, 
82;  threads  made  by,  95;  on 


hunting-parties,  96;  agricul- 
ture conducted  by,  and  chil- 
dren, 80,  102;  under  care  of 
of  sachem,  171;  sometimes 
sachems,  171;  never  priests 
nor  conjurers,  234;  constituted 
part  of  the  delights  of  heaven, 
261;  dress  of  one  described, 
346-347 

Worcester  County,  Maryland, 
tribes  in,  366 

Words,  some  Indian,  285-323; 
see  Language 

Workshops,  Indian,  114-119 

Worsaae  quoted,  112,  217 

Wounds,  see  Medicine 

Wreath  worn  by  women  about 
the  head,  58 

Wreck  of  Christian  ship  about 
1564,  III 

Wysoccan,  a  mad  potion  given 
in  huskanawing,  196 


Year,  how  divided,  84 

Yeardley  forces  payment  of  tri- 
bute,    146 

York,  river,  formerly  Pamun- 
key,  142,  326;  town  on  the, 
145-146;  tribes  on  the,  355- 

359 
Youghtamund,    river    now    the 
Pamunkey,  170,  317,  326;  the 
tribe,  324,  338 


•^  Selection  from  the 
Catalogue  of 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S   SONS 

Complete  Catalogues  sent 
on  application 


The    Winning   of   the 
Far  West 

A  History  of  the  Regaining  of  Texas,  of  the  Mexican  War,  of 

the  Oregon  Question ;  and  of  the  Successive  Additions 

to  the    Territory  in  the    United    States  within 

the  Continent  of  America,  1829-1867 

By 

Robert  McNutt  McElroy,  Ph.D. 

Edweurds  Professor  of  American  History,  Princeton  University 
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This  volume  is  designed  as  a  continuation  of  Theodore  Roosevelt's 
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that  struggle  to  President  Jackson's  determination,  so  often  announced  in 
his  letters  of  that  period,  to  "  regain  Texas,  peaceably  if  we  can,  forcibly 
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The  Story  of  a  Remarkable  Career  and  its  Relation  to 

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One  ot  ir»e  most  interesting  and 
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qualified  to  estimate  and  balance  the  exploits  of  this 
energetic  American  whose  hand  so  often  nearly  grasped 
the  most  glorious  success,  and  whose  friends  delighted  to 
call  "  Pathfinder." 


New  York      G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 


London 


ill. 


